Stock on Market Steadies During November | Louis Christopher

The number of Australian residential property sale listings steadied during November, which is an unusual result for this time of year.

However, taking into account the surge in listings during October and the slow start to the selling season back in September, this could be a sign that stock is being absorbed at a faster right than previous months.

Nationally, the number of unsold properties on the market has been recorded at 363,853 for November 2014 – with no change month-on-month and a -1.4% decrease year-on-year.

Key Points

• Total online residential listings steadied during the month of November, recording no change on a monthly basis and coming to a total of 363,853.
• This figure represents a decrease of -1.4% when compared to the corresponding period of the previous year (November 2013).
• Perth recorded the highest monthly increase in stock levels of all the capital cities, increasing by 2.6% during November 2014 and coming to a total of 20,405.
• Brisbane recorded the largest monthly decline in stock levels, falling by -1.5% during November and coming to a total of 27,938.
• Darwin was the capital city to record the highest yearly increase in stock levels, climbing 25.9% since the corresponding period of the previous year (November 2013) and coming to a total of 1,833.
• Sydney has recorded the largest yearly decrease in stock levels, falling by –8.1% since the corresponding period of the previous year (November 2013) and coming to a total of 25,577.

More details

All capital cities recorded minor changes over the course of the month, with Perth revealing the highest monthly change – 2.6% up in stock levels during November, which is in line with the direction that SQM Research believes Perth to be taking in recent periods (a result of the downturn in mining).

Comparing results year-on-year, Darwin’s figures continue to be quite alarming, recording a 25.9% increase since the corresponding period in 2013.

SQM Research also attributes this to the slump in Australia’s commodities boom.

Sydney has taken a dive in the opposite direction on a yearly basis, dropping by -8.1% since November 2013 – a result indicative of an ongoing strong sales market.

Alongside this, the current asking price of houses in Sydney has remained over one million dollars over the course of the month, with an asking price of $1,003,200 as of today (2^nd December 2014).

Overall the east coast market remains strong. We do not believe that the market is slowing down at this stage. This most recent data suggest that while there was a surge in listings in October that quite a lot of that stock was absorbed and sold. In the resources exposed towns such as Perth and Darwin, we think the downturn continues.