More Choice for Buyers

The number of homes listed for sale is rising across Australia, with new data showing listings are 2.6% higher across the combined capital cities than at the same time last year.

The biggest increase in overall listings is in Sydney, which is up 8.5% on last year followed by Melbourne, up 7%, Adelaide (6.8%) and Canberra (5%)

All other capital cities have lower listings than at this time last year with the biggest drop in Darwin (-22%), Hobart (-20.6%), Perth (-14.7%) and Brisbane (-0.9%).

It is even tighter in regional Australia with listings across the combined regions down almost 10% on the same time last year, with the biggest drops in Regional Western Australia and Regional Tasmania.

The rise in listings means vendor discounting is increasing in some markets. The median discounting rate across the combined capitals has increased from 2.9% to 3.1% over recent months.

Sellers in Regional Northern Territory markets have had to reduce their median asking price by the most (-5.6%), while sellers in Brisbane, Regional Western Australia and Regional South Australia are getting closer to their asking price with vendor discounting of just 2.9%.

According to Cotality, softening buyer demand is also being reflected in a drop in auction clearance rates, as higher borrowing costs and proposed tax changes weigh on sentiment.