Property pendulum swings to spring buyer’s market

The power in the property market is back in the hands of buyers this spring in most parts of the country as competition subsides.

Lana and Scott Arnold with children Poppy and August at the home they’re selling in Caringbah, in Sydney’s south. Picture: John Feder/The Australian

The power in the property market is back in the hands of buyers this spring in most parts of the country as competition subsides.

Many of Australia’s most desirable regions through the pandemic have recorded significant pullbacks in the number of active buyers year on year compared to the number of available properties, new data compiled for The Weekend Australian by PropTrack has found.

The number of potential buyers per listing on realestate.com.au had fallen by more than 5 per cent in much of the country (68.2 per cent) compared to last year. The change in market dynamics is largely being felt in previously highly sought-after areas, such as Hobart (down 47.4 per cent), Coffs Harbour and Grafton (down 46.4 per cent), and the NSW Southern Highlands (down 45.1 per cent).

PropTrack director of economic research Cameron Kusher said the transition to a buyers market has been “really quick”, in line with interest rate increases.

“We’re seeing the amount of stock coming to the market still quite strong … but the big change has been that interest rates have risen so quickly,” he said. “It has thinned out the number of people buying and reduced their borrowing capacity. Some of the biggest falls in potential buyers per listing have been in some of the more expensive areas of the country.”

The number of homes on offer through August was higher year on year across more than three-quarters of Australia.

Scott and Lana Arnold recently purchased their new family home in Port Docking, in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire. Competition has receded 32.3 per cent meaning they could view the house twice before securing it a week after the first walk-through.

This weekend, the Arnolds are offering their home in Caringbah South for the first time through APG Ray White’s Alex Pitsis.

“We have been watching the market for a good year,” Mr Arnold said. “When prices started to dip, we just felt it was a good time to go for something bigger. It was very much a buyers market.”

In areas where the number of homes listed has fallen, competition remains high, including the Barossa, Yorke, Mid North region of South Australia, where the number of buyers per listing is up 62.2 per cent versus available homes falling 40.8 per cent and Cairns, where properties on the market are down 24.6 per cent and active buyers up 29.7 per cent.