A MESSAGE FROM OUR MANAGING DIRECTOR
Like me , are you confused about the amount of property on the market at the moment ? It ’ s very easy to be .
Whenever I am speaking with one of our members about what they are seeing at the moment , with the exception perhaps of those in Adelaide , they tell me that it is extremely tight for listings . This is backed up by media headlines such as “ low stock driving up house prices ”. But when we look at the total amount of property we have listed for sale , we find that we have more than we had this time last year . So , what is the truth ?
Our Listings Data Report , prepared every month by our data analyst Will Clark reconciles both of these realities . The report supports the anecdotal position that the amount of new listings ( that is , a listing that has come to market in the last 30 days ) coming onto the market has fallen materially in most markets over the past year . The year on year comparison of new listings in the 2023 April quarter versus the 2022 April quarter shows falls of up to 25 per cent in Sydney and Melbourne , with Adelaide the only capital showing growth .
Will ’ s report also confirms that the total listings on the market has increased compared with a year ago . The year on year comparison of total listings in the 2023 April quarter versus the 2022 April quarter shows an increase of up to 15 per cent . A lot of these listings aren ’ t being actively marketed .
It seems that despite the very strong sales results being obtained in the market at the moment , the majority of those sellers that came to market earlier this year , or even in late 2022 , but did not sell and still have their property listed quietly for sale , are waiting for better offers . A year ago , just 27 per cent of our listings had been on the market for more than 90 days . Presently , it is nearly 43 per cent . Though we have seen some sellers in this category successfully re-fresh their sale campaign by
taking their property back to auction , the majority have not .
But what about longer term trends and insights ? It ’ s dangerous to simply compare current market data with data that covers activity that occurred in the 12 months prior to the 2022 interest rate rises . The market run from mid 2021 to early 2022 should probably be confined as an outlier . So how then does what we are seeing now in regards to new listings , and total listings , compare to what occurred over the past 10 years ?
Well , whilst we are experiencing a drop in new listings in 2023 compared to 2021 , 2023 is still a strong year for new listings compared to any other year in the past 10 years . But as for total listings on the market , whilst it is currently higher than the last few years , it is well below the 10 year average .
Hence the opportunity for confusion ! The trend for new listings and total listings have moved in opposite directions in the past year . And whilst these trends may be true for the recent year or so , the trend is the opposite if you take a 10 year view .
What is not confusing is the auction data at the moment . We are currently experiencing very high auction bidder numbers and clearance rates right across our network . The recent auction by the team at Ray White Parramatta of a home in Northmead had 35 registered bidders , and is a great example of the buyer competition being created . The opportunity is there for sellers that have been on the market for some time to reactivate their marketing campaign to take advantage of what we are seeing now .
Dan White Managing Director Ray White Group
2