PropTrack’s latest data sets showed declines in both sales listings and rental vacancies in April, reflecting a very tough environment for both buyers and renters.
Quiet autumn-selling season
Sales markets in April reported a 28.3% monthly decline in new listings. This, however, is a typical occurrence given the Easter and Anzac Day public holidays.
Capital cities led the slowdown, with new listings down 29% month-on-month. All capital cities saw new listings decline, led by Canberra and Hobart.
Meanwhile, regional areas also felt the pinch, with new listings falling 27.2% from March.
PropTrack economist Angus Moore said while it was a slower month of new listings, the good thing is that the total number of listings available for sale during the month was higher compared to a year ago.
“With the majority of the autumn selling season now behind us, we expect market activity will remain quieter over the next few months,” he said.
“This is usually the case heading into, and during, the winter period before the market picks up again for spring.”
Still, Mr Moore said it is important to also consider that market conditions have already improved from late 2022, with auction clearance rates remaining reasonably firm throughout autumn.
“Home prices increased again in April, marking the fourth consecutive month of growth — while the increases have been modest, it is a change from the consistent price falls seen throughout much of 2022 when the RBA was raising interest rates very quickly,” he said.
Here are the other highlights about April listings:
- Both Sydney and Melbourne recorded notably fewer new listings this April compared to last year.
- Darwin and Adelaide registered the smallest decline annually, but both still saw new listings down substantially compared to a year ago.
- New listings in the regions were down 21.4% in April. However, some regional areas like New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania saw improvements.
Tight rental market conditions
The supply of rentals across the country remained tight, declining 18.9% in April, the largest decline since 2017.
PropTrack director for economic research Cameron Kusher said there seems to be a growing divergence in new rental supply between large capital cities and regional areas.
“Given the fall in new rental listings over the month, total rental listings were also lower across all capital cities and regional areas — nationally, total rental listings were down 9.7% month-on-month in April,” he said.
In fact, capital city new rental listings were 7.4% lower year-on-year in April 2023, while in regional areas they were 15.8% higher.
The divergence is also apparent in terms of total number of properties for rent — regional markets reported 20.8% increase while capital cities posted a 16.5% decline.
Overall, Mr Kusher said there was little relief for renters in the month, particularly those looking in the larger capital cities.
“However, pressures are starting to ease in regional areas and smaller capital cities as pandemic-induced trends begin to reverse,” he said.
Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth face toughest rental market conditions in the country, as they report annual declines in new listings.
“Without an imminent increase in supply, the stock of rental properties will remain low, exacerbating the competitive conditions renters currently face,” Mr Kusher said.
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