The latest SQM Research data into the real estate sector has shown a significant reduction in the number of residential property listings across Australia over the past month, with the December figure landing at 234,194 compared to 247,062 in November – a decline of 5.2 per cent.
The decrease was in the main driven by the Sydney market, with the New South Wales capital experiencing a 15.2 per cent drop in total listings and a fall in new listings, those properties placed on the market for less than 30 days, of 47.6 per cent. A similar phenomenon was witnessed in Canberra, with the nation’s capital recording an 11.4 per cent decrease in total listings and a 45 per cent reduction in new listings.
On a nationwide basis, new listings suffered a 32.4 per cent decline in December, with Melbourne and Darwin following Sydney and Canberra’s direction in this area with a fall of 37.7 per cent and 37.4 per cent respectively.
Older listings, residential properties listed on the market for more than 180 days, decreased as well in December by 1 per cent, but did show an increase over a 12-month period of 5.9 per cent.
“It’s no surprise that listings and activity in the residential property market fell in December, with the commencement of the holiday season. It is interesting to note that overall national listings were slightly higher in December 2023 than they were in December 2022, with Adelaide the only exception – seemingly because of its relative affordability and extremely tight rental market,” SQM head of property and business analytics Harry Bawa noted.
“Aside from January, which we expect will follow a similar trend as previous years, subdued by the holiday season and the Australia Day long weekend, 2024 will be an interesting year.”
The median asking price for a residential dwelling across the country landed at $806,612 in December, representing a decrease of 0.2 per cent.
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