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This year’s spring-selling season is shaping up to be more subdued as property listings fell unexpectedly over the past month.

The number of available residential properties for sale across the country fell 3.5% to 228,945 in August, according to SQM Research.

Over the month, Perth, Sydney, and Canberra posted the biggest decline in total property listings.

SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher said property listings usually start to increase in August in preparation of the spring-selling season.

“It would suggest to me spring is going to be weaker on the activity front — vendors are clearly cautious to sell in this environment and there is no panic selling at this stage,” Mr Christopher said.

In fact, the drop in the total listings was due to fewer properties that came into the market over the past month.

According to SQM Research, the number of new listings, which comprises properties that are up for sale for less than 30 days, declined 1.9% to 70,766 in August.

Brisbane recorded the biggest drop in new listings at 10.3%, followed by Adelaide (9.7%), and Perth (9.4%).

Of all capital cities, only Darwin witnessed more new listings in August.

In terms of old listings, the overhead count fell by only 0.6%, as most capital cities actually reported higher figures over the month. Old listings refer to the properties that have been on the market for more than 180 days.

Monthly change in listings – August 2022

 

Total listings* (%)

New Listings (%)

Old Listings (%)

Sydney

-4.6

-1.1

-1.2

Melbourne

-3.2

-3.3

3.6

Brisbane

-2.8

-10.3

5.5

Perth

-6.5

-9.4

-2.9

Adelaide

-4.1

-9.7

1.5

Canberra

-2.6

-5.4

27.6

Darwin

-2.5

7.4

-1.6

Hobart

-1.1

-6.5

12.1

National

-3.5

-1.9

-0.6

Listings Volume – August 2022

 

Total listings*

New Listings

Old Listings

Sydney

30,077

12,076

3,892

Melbourne

35,744

13,553

6,550

Brisbane

20,108

7,120

1,952

Perth

21,053

6,542

3,867

Adelaide

9,519

4,173

1,204

Canberra

2,834

1,341

333

Darwin

1,669

277

628

Hobart

1,726

500

250

National

228,945

70,766

50,632

*Total Listings include properties that are on the market for more than 30 days but less than 180 days.

However, SQM Research found an increase in the number of distressed listings, particularly in New South Wales, the ACT, and Tasmania. Overall, distressed listings increased 2.0% in August, driven by the above 10% gain observed in the states mentioned.

Distressed Listings – August 2022

 

Volume

Monthly Change (%)

Annual Change (%)

New South Wales

1,201

12.9

49.0

Victoria

748

4.3

24.5

Queensland

2,527

2.0

-15.5

Western Australia

1,473

-5.4

-5.6

South Australia

262

-2.6

-52.6

ACT

14

16.7

-33.3

Northern Territory

86

-10.4

0

Tasmania

73

14.1

55.3

National

6,384

2.0

-4.2

Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels.