Comparing stock on market

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By Leith van Onselen

Earlier this week, I reported how, according to RP Data, the number of homes for sale nationally in the week ending 6 May 2012 was some 13% (34,290) higher than in the corresponding week of 2011, with Victoria (up 18,879 or 36%) leading the way:

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I didn’t realise at the time, but rival housing data provider, SQM Research, had also published stock on market statistics for the month of April 2012, which showed only a modest 0.3% increase in stock levels over the year, with Melbourne up by only 11.2% or 4,879 units (see table).

Obviously, both datasets are not directly comparable, since RP Data’s is shown at the state levels whereas SQMs is at the capital city level. Nevertheless, the divergence between the two data providers is interesting, and likely pertains to differences in the sources and methodologies used to collect the data.

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Regardless of the diferences between the two series, stock on market across Australia looks to be highly elevated; albeit more so according to RP Data:

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Confused? Yeah, me too…

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.