National residential property listings rose in April 2021 by 2.4% to 262,617 from 256,568 in March 2021, while asking houses prices jumped 6.1% in Sydney as the property market gathers momentum.
The largest monthly rises in property listing were in Canberra, Perth, and Sydney, while Hobart listings fell 4.8% as they continue a downward trend, putting pressure on asking house prices.
Compared to 12 months ago, listings fell 10.3% across the nation.
Key Points
- National residential property listings rose in April 2021 by 2.4% to 262,617 from 256,568 in March. Compared to 12 months ago, listings were down by 10.3%.
- Nationally, new listings (Less than 30 days) fell 2.8% over April, with 81,643 new properties added onto the market. New listings are up 57.5% over the year.
- Sydney asking house prices jumped 6.1% over the month to 4 May, but oversupply is weighing on unit prices. National asking prices rose by 3.7% for houses but edged 0.2% lower for units.
Total Listings
Nationally, new listings (Less than 30 days) fell 2.8% over April to 81,643 properties on the market, though they are up 57.5% over the year.
Hobart new listings dropped the most, down by 16.0%. Canberra and Sydney went against the trend and posted healthy rises of 10.7% and 4.8%, respectively.
Over the year, new listing rose the most in Darwin, by 177.6%. In a sign that older stock is clearing, property listings over 180 days fell 1.3% over April and they are down 33.4% over the year, with big falls posted recorded in all capital cities.
Property owners have clearly responded to all the talk about a property boom and have aggressively lifted asking house prices over April, particularly in Sydney.
We have also seen a strong rise in Sydney’s new property listings for the month, in part driven by having five weekends, but also because property owners are keen to take advantage of the buoyant conditions.
Old listings continued to fall and that suggests that sales rates were still quite strong for the month despite the lift in prices and the Easter and school holiday periods causing some people to delay their property search.
With low-interest rates expected to prevail for some time yet, a benign end to Job Keeper and many households flush with cash, we expect to see moderate to strong activity in the housing market over this quarter, which will likely push house prices even higher.
We are, however, seeing an ongoing oversupply of units in Sydney and Melbourne with falls in asking unit prices over the month, leaving some space open for first home buyers and investors to enter the property market.
Asking Prices
Over the 30 days to 4 May, national asking prices rose by 2.6% for houses and 0.2% for units.
Over the year, growth in asking house prices of 11.8% was posted, led by gains in Hobart, though Sydney is catching up.
Healthy rises in asking house prices have also been posted in Brisbane and Adelaide.
Asking unit prices rose 6.1%, pushed up by rises in the smaller capital cities and regional locations.
Capital city asking house prices rose 5.2% over the year to 4 May, while unit asking prices are down by 1.8%, reflecting falls in asking prices for Sydney units of 5.1%, as oversupply swamps the market.
