This year's spring selling season looks set to be a big one, with national new listings on realestate.com.au up 20.5% month-on-month in August, a 4.1% increase on this time last year, according to PropTrack.
Sydney and Melbourne led the surge, with new listings up 18.4% in Sydney and 20.8% in Melbourne compared to the same time last year.
PropTrack senior economist and report author Angus Moore said activity is likely to increase over the spring selling season, reaching the typical peak in October and November.
"Selling conditions and home prices have also improved compared to late 2022," he said.
"Home prices nationally have continued to recover, posting their eighth consecutive month of growth in August."
Mr Moore said the rise in new listings was driven by Sydney and Melbourne after a quieter first half of 2023.
"Property market activity appears to be picking up in Sydney and Melbourne with both markets busier-than-typical in August.
"Activity in many other capitals has also increased but remains subdued compared to a year ago."
In Brisbane, 11.8% more new listings hit the market than in July but new listings were down 10.4% compared to a year ago.
Similarly, Perth was up 17.9% for new listings compared with July, but off 8.6% compared to August last year.
Adelaide was down 3.3% year-on-year, but up 18.9% compared with July.
The real standout was Canberra, which saw a 38.9% increase on July, and a year-on-year increase of 23.2%.
Mr Moore said while there may be further interest rate rises, markets are only pricing in a small probability of that.
"Inflation appears to be heading back towards target at a pace consistent with the Reserve Bank's expectations," he said.
"The fundamentals of housing demand remain strong. Unemployment remains very low by historic standards, though it has edged higher recently.
"Rental markets remain extremely tight across much of the country, and rents are growing quickly amid strong demand and limited rental availability. International migration and population growth are forecast to remain strong, which will further add to housing demand."
Image by Opollo Photography via Unsplash
