The number of homes for sale rose sharply in many parts of Sydney and Melbourne according to CoreLogic. Peter Rae
Fresh home listings in some of the more expensive Sydney suburbs have more than doubled in the past four weeks as sellers scramble to beat the spring selling rush, data from CoreLogic shows.
New stock is also piling up in Melbourne’s more affluent areas despite falling prices.
Separate data from Ray White shows stock levels are poised to surge even higher in the coming weeks as more properties hit the market.
Eliza Owen, CoreLogic’s head of research said the earlier-than-normal groundswell was likely fuelled by expectations of weaker house price growth, prompting some sellers to get ahead of the competition.
“Usually listings volumes across the combined capitals peak in mid-to-late November, and they start ramping up in mid-to-late September, so it’s possible that as we face the threat of another dip in home values or softer market conditions that people are actually trying to get ahead of excessive seller competition,” she said.
“I think this could also be a reflection of solid selling conditions in some of those Sydney areas that vendors are taking advantage of before more homes hit the market.”
Suburbs in the northern parts of Sydney’s eastern suburbs posted the sharpest increase in new stock at 163 per cent, followed by Ku-ring-gai at 96 per cent.
Fresh listings also climbed in North Sydney-Mosman and the south part of the eastern suburbs, rising by 64 per cent and 53 per cent, respectively.
New stock rose by 45 per cent in Warringah and by 30 per cent in Manly and Baulkham Hills.
Thomas McGlynn, chief executive of Sydney-based real estate agency BresicWhitney, said stock levels were piling up as more properties failed to sell at auctions.
“New listings are rising, but there’s still existing stock that hasn’t sold in August remaining on the market, so buyers feel there is a lot to choose from,” he said.
“Our own stock is around 20 per cent higher than last year and I think there are more than enough buyers to match these.
“However, the sentiment and the appetite of those buyers has changed from three months ago, and they are very steadfast on their limits, and are less likely to extend themselves to buy property at the moment.
“That’s why we’re seeing more sellers having to adjust their expectations downwards if the want to sell.”
Across Melbourne, new listings jumped between 46 per cent and 64 per cent in the Bayside, Stonnington-east, Manningham-east, Boroondara and Nillumbik-Kinglake areas.
Compared to the five-year average, stock levels in those regions are now higher by up to 58 per cent.
Ms Owen said in Melbourne’s case, mortgage stress could be prompting some vendors to put their homes for sale in a falling market.
In the past three months, property prices in Bayside fell by 3.1 per cent, they dropped by 2.4 per cent in Boroondara and down by 1.6 in Manningham-east.
“The fact that sellers are hitting the market despite flat or weak market conditions could reflect some motivated selling,” Ms Owen said.
“At the same time, there’s also less demand for more expensive markets, broadly speaking, just because of high interest rates and weaker economic conditions, so it would be interesting to see whether that will start to shift as the stage three tax cuts come into effect.”
Separate data from Ray White shows more properties are set to hit the market in the coming weeks, based on the sharp increase in listing authorities – the point at which a vendor signs an agent to sell their home, before the property is advertised.
The count of listing authorities rose by 9.7 per cent nationwide over the past 12 months and nearly doubled compared to the five-year average.
Victoria-Tasmania posted the sharpest increase of 15.8 per cent over a year ago, followed by SA and NT at 14.2 per cent.
Listing authorities lifted by 7.7 per cent in WA, they were up by 8.2 per cent in Queensland and by 5.7 per cent in NSW-ACT.
Nerida Conisbee, Ray White chief economist, said the strong price growth in Perth, Adelaide and south-east Queensland was likely prompting vendors to cash in.
“I think many people are just seeing the opportunity to get a good price selling in those markets,” she said.
“In Melbourne, prices are stable but there are additional taxes that have been put in place targeting investors which have made owning a rental property less attractive.
“Prices are now falling in Hobart, off the back of very low population growth which may also be encouraging people to market.”
In the past three months, home values leapt by 6.2 per cent in Perth, they were up by 5 per cent in Adelaide, but fell by 0.9 per cent in Melbourne, according to CoreLogic.
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