SQM Research has released listings data for April, which shows that the number of residential property listings nationally fell by 6.4% over the month, falling from 256,000 recorded in March 2024 to 239,660 dwellings.
However, over the year, listings rose by 5.6% nationally:
The annual rise in listings was driven by Sydney (+12.8%) and Melbourne (17.7%), whereas the other major capital cities recorded annual falls in listings.
New property listings (i.e., less than 30 days) rose by 10.6% nationally over the year to April, again led by Sydney (26.6%) and Melbourne (27.9%):
Louis Christopher, Managing Director of SQM Research, noted that the rise in listings in the two major capitals pushed down asking prices “signalling some vendor caution and eagerness to meet the market. We will be watching this indicator more closely over the weeks and months ahead”.
“As the realisation sets in for all market participants that an interest rate cut is not imminently coming, we expect market caution to build over the winter months and so do not at this time rule out some housing price falls in our largest capital cities for the 2nd half of 2024”, Christopher wrote.
CoreLogic’s daily dwelling values index has recorded softer price growth in Melbourne and Sydney compared with the other major capitals:
This suggests that the rise in listings in these two major markets is dampening price growth.
