PropTrack records slow start to spring home sales

Public holidays and rising interest rates brought new house listings down in September, falling nationally by 7.5 per cent, according to research from PropTrack.

The slow start to the spring selling season has been confirmed with new listings nationally falling 7.5 per cent in September, according to research from PropTrack.

While public holidays were partly to blame, the figures confirmed that market stalling as conditions have cooled from the hot start to the year.

The housing market is battling the influence of rising interest rates but clearance rates have held in some areas as bargain hunters have moved in.

PropTrack found that the number of new properties listed on realestate.com.au in September was down 7.5 per cent month-on-month as the National Day of Mourning and the AFL Grand Final delayed some selling activity.

This brought new listings down 9.2 per cent year-on-year.

The heaviest falls were in Sydney (-13 per cent), Melbourne (-6.8 per cent), Brisbane (-13.3 per cent), Adelaide (-10.7 per cent), Perth (-5.1 per cent) and Hobart (-0.7 per cent), all experienced monthly declines in new listings.

While most capital cities had fewer new listings in September, Canberra (+0.5 per cent) and Darwin (+2 per cent) recorded small lifts.

PropTrack economist Angus Moore believes that demand drivers will keep the housing market ticking over.

“While disruptions due to the public holidays likely played a part, selling conditions have tempered from their very strong levels earlier in the year. The slower month for new listings could be an indication that we are starting to see activity slow after a very busy first half of the year in property markets,“ he said.

But Mr Moore cautioned that with only one month worth of data, and a public-holiday-affected month at that, it was too soon to be able to draw firm conclusions.

Home prices have continued to decline in most cities after growth hit multi-decade highs last year and are now down 3.4 per cent nationally from the peak in March.

Mr Moore said the Reserve Bank of Australia had continued to raise interest rates at a brisk pace, with a sixth consecutive interest rate rise in October, which has brought the cash rate up 2.5 percentage points since May.

The RBA is likely to continue raising rates over the course of this year, which will reduce borrowing capacities for prospective buyers and place greater downward pressure on prices in the near-term.

“Looking further ahead, the fundamental drivers of demand remain strong, with unemployment very low, wages growth expected to pick up over this year, and international migration increasing,” Mr Moore said.

He noted that despite fewer new listings coming to market, the total number of properties listed for sale around the country was flat in the month as properties took longer to sell.

Despite a quieter month, options for buyers in most cities have improved substantially over 2022. The stock of properties listed for sale in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra is above the prior decade average, while Hobart has seen a 72.1 per cent year-on-year surge.