Several indicators are reflecting the property market's buoyancy amid the pandemic, according to the latest report from the REA Group.
Cameron Kusher, group director of economic research of REA Group, said the property market reflected strong sales activity and price growth in recent months.
“All indicators have continued to outperform previous years and remain at historically high levels. There has been a clear cooling of the market over recent months, which is to be expected at this time of year during what is typically a quieter period for the housing market," he said.
Over the first 27 weeks of the year, preliminary weekly sales were 60.7% higher than the same period last year and 68.7% higher than the same period in 2019.
Furthermore, the demand for properties for sale increased by 43.2% in June over the same month last year. This was based on the average views per listing on realestate.com.au.
The median selling time for properties also reflect the strong activity from buyers, decreasing from 71 to 38 days in June.
"Demand has eased slightly but properties for sale are still tight so are expected to continue to sell quickly. Views per listing levels are likely to remain comparatively high to similar winter periods. First home buyer demand is likely to wane while we expect to see enquiry from investors increase as they stage their comeback," Kusher said.
Kusher said the favourable environment could potentially result in increasing housing affordability challenges by spring.
"With low borrowing costs and prices rising we expect an increasing share of property seekers to be looking at properties priced over $1m. Demand for higher priced properties is largely driven by the current supply of higher priced properties," he said.
However, Kusher believes that activity could ease as the market moves deeper into the winter months.
