Houses’ median time on market over the three months to April was 60 days— up from 35 days in the previous period, according to data from CoreLogic.

The result echoes the weakening demand for housing and the excess supply in the market. “In a strong market, properties will typically sell quickly, while in weaker markets, where stock levels are high and buyer urgency is absent, properties tend to take longer to sell,” CoreLogic Research Analyst Cameron Kusher said.

The analytics firm reported that advertised stock levels across the combined capitals were at their highest level for this time of the year since 2012, while capital city settled sales were down by 16% year-over-year.

The study also showed that the median time on the market grew across both capital city and regional markets. Sydney homes took 62 days to sell over the April quarter – up from 31 days. Dwellings in regional NSW, meanwhile, recorded a median time on market of 72 days – up from 50 days.  

The trend across the rest of the country was similar to the movements in NSW’s property market. Over the past three months, Melbourne dwellings took an average of 43 days to sell, up from 27 days over the same period in 2018.

Properties in areas outside of Melbourne stayed on the market for about 54 days, up from 37 days a year ago.

Dwellings in Brisbane, meanwhile, listed for an average of 60 days over the past three months, while in regional Queensland, houses took 77 days to sell.

The median time on market for Brisbane dwellings was 34 days. In regional Queensland, homes took 47 days to sell during the same period last year.

“Although values have declined over the past year in Brisbane and regional Queensland, it has been a much more moderate decline than in Sydney and Melbourne,” Kusher said. “Despite this fact, there has been a sharp spike in days on the market, highlighting that selling conditions have become much tougher despite values having only fallen moderately.”

Regional South Australia bucked the trend, being the only region to experience a fall in the time spent on the market. The median time on market for houses in the area was 92 days, down from an average listing period of 95 days in the April quarter of 2018.