Property listings across Australia fell slightly in March, indicating that housing demand is still outpacing the current market supply, according to the latest report from the SQM Research.
Over the month, the national property listings went down by 0.5%, driven by the significant decline in Canberra. Listings in Hobart and Adelaide also declined by 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively.
Three cities posted substantial gains in listings over the month, including Melbourne (2.9%), Perth (3.4%), and Darwin (2.2).
"Absorption rates continued to increase, so we saw overall property listings fall slightly over March, as they did in February. This means that demand for property is still outstripping supply," said Louis Christopher, managing director of SQM Research.
On an annual basis, property listings in March were 16.7% lower than during the same period last year. Only Melbourne reported an annual gain in property listings.
Christopher expects the market to remain tight, despite the end of the JobKeeper program that will likely dampen the absorption rates.
"The Australian economy remains awash with cash and with interest rates so low, we are likely to see sustained growth in property prices for the months to come, unless the regulators step in to cool the market, which is unlikely with COVID-19 still lurking in economies," he said.
