A MESSAGE FROM OUR MANAGING DIRECTOR
While our Australian sales results for September 2022 confirmed that the market didn ’ t enjoy a typical spring bounce and came in well shy of our September 2021 results , they showed that overall market activity has not declined in recent months despite continued negative speculation . Our data also confirmed that the Queensland market continues to significantly outperform New South Wales and Victoria , as it has done since the start of COVID-19 in 2020 .
We recorded $ 5.1 billion in sales in Australia in September , up 3.5 per cent on August . This lack of a significant spring bounce resulted in a 16 per cent decline in sales value compared with September 2021 . When comparing sales results to September last year , New South Wales had the largest decline at 36 per cent , while Queensland had the smallest at 11 per cent . For the first time in many years , both South Australia and Western Australia experienced a decline in sales year on year . Victoria only had a two per cent decline , however this is likely because Melbourne was in lockdown for most of September 2021 .
The value of residential stock listed for sale during the month was $ 5.5 billion , which was approximately nine per cent less than last year . It was also down from $ 6.1 billion in August , which again goes against the usual trend for this time of year . New South Wales saw the sharpest reduction in new listings across all markets , reflecting anecdotal stories from our members that potential sellers are more hesitant to go to market .
This increased caution from potential sellers comes at a time when other key metrics stabilised during September and pointed towards a more balanced market between buyer and seller .
One of the metrics that ’ s stabilised in recent months is market liquidity , being the speed , or the efficiency , of sales . This is best determined by analysing the median number of days it takes to sell a property . We ’ ve seen days on market steadily increase from 27 days since the last quarter of 2021 , reflecting an increasing disconnect between the expectations of sellers and buyers .
Our median days on market in September steadied at 35 days . For properties listed as auctions , the median days was 29 , and for properties listed as private treaty
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