New data shows Australia’s fast rise in property prices is not attributed to any significant shortage of property listings, rather, the sheer number of buyers in the market right now.
Data released by SQM Research recently showed that new property listings were up by 4.3% nationally over January, with most cities recording year-on-year rises. There are plenty of listings out there, just not enough to satisfy the demand of new buyers entering the marketplace.
Domain’s senior analyst, Dr Nicola Powell, has indicated a degree of confidence has returned among sellers. “We ended 2020 in a strong position with record-high prices across most of our capital cities and I think that is luring more vendors to come to the market at a time where we have got historic low interest rates which are bringing increasing numbers of buyers to the market.” She said.
“I think this lift in year-on-year listings across the board also reflects the fact that our holidays this year have probably been a bit shorter because we haven’t been able to travel internationally… and some people are even choosing not to travel interstate and so perhaps people are listing their homes a bit earlier than they would normally,” Dr Powell added, demonstrating the earlier start we have seen to the busy new year selling period.
What we are seeing now is a competitive environment for many buyers, thanks to historic low interest rates and relaxed lending laws, which allow the average customer to borrow an extra $70,000. In the same vein, the number of people attending open-houses across Sydney city last month was up by more than a third, year-on-year, new data shows, as a fear of missing out sets in for house hunters, although not equally spread – inspections for houses were up 36.7 per cent, year-on-year, foot traffic through units was down 12.9 per cent over the same period.
If you are looking to jump into the market and secure your purchase, or if you are thinking of selling but unsure of where you would go, get in contact with us so we can assist!