The latest SQM Research data has indicated a 2.8 per cent decline in residential property listings in July, falling from a total of 325,404 in the previous month to 316,391.
The figures showed all capital cities experienced a drop in listings, with Sydney and Perth recording the biggest falls. The New South Wales capital chalked up a total of 29,055 listings, down from the number recorded in June of 31,431, representing a 7.6 per cent decline. Perth property sales listings fell from 25,807 in June to 24,770 in July, which was a 4 per cent dip.
With reference to year-on-year statistics, total property sales listings for the whole of the nation experienced a 0.7 per cent increase. This result was not reflected in Sydney, however, with Australia’s largest capital city witnessing a decline in its listings of 10.5 per cent.
“July’s result was no doubt affected by seasonality with the winter months historically a low time for new listings. However, we note there was also a large decline in older stock, which may indicate that sales rates did rise in July or more vendors opted out of their sales campaigns,” SQM research managing director Louis Christopher said.
On a more positive note, average asking prices for residential properties increased for the month ending 6 August by 1.7 per cent for houses and 0.6 per cent for apartments. The trend means the average asking price for a house is $919,900 and for a unit is $566,500.
Sydney achieved the highest appreciation in the asking prices for both houses and units over the month.
“The rise in asking prices in Sydney of 2.6 per cent for houses and 1.2 per cent for units indicates increased confidence by vendors of a turnaround in the market. Vendors in Sydney would be well advised though to not get ahead of themselves in what is still a cautious market,” Christopher noted.
Unlike listings though, the asking rates decreased on a yearly basis with houses fetching 4.3 per cent less than 12 months ago and unit prices 1.8 per cent lower for the period.
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