Key takeaways
In March 2024, the number of national residential property listings increased by 6.9%, rising to 256,000 dwellings from the 239,459 recorded in February 2024.
Nationally, new listings (Less than 30 days) recorded a 6.2% rise in March, with 79,296 fresh property listings entering the market.
National combined dwelling asking prices has risen 0.3% from February to March 2024.
March recorded a 6.9% increase in nationwide residential property listings, according to the latest data from SQM Research.
The total listings now stand at 256,000 properties, an increase from the 239,459 recorded in February 2024.
Notably, all major cities experienced an increase in their listings.
Over the course of a 12-month period, there are 2.6% more listings than recorded back in March 2023.
Sydney and Melbourne now record 9.1% and 8.7% more listings than this time, last year.
Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide continue to run against the trend, reporting a significant decrease of 11.1%, 27.2% and 13.7%, respectively over the 12-month period.
Total Listings of Properties for Sale
| City | March 2024 Total | February 2024 Total | March 2023 Total | Monthly change | Yearly Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 32,803 | 30,093 | 30,054 | 9.0% | 9.1% |
| Melbourne | 41,297 | 38,120 | 37,987 | 8.3% | 8.7% |
| Brisbane | 18,130 | 16,316 | 20,043 | 11.1% | -11.1% |
| Perth | 15,266 | 15,152 | 20,956 | 0.8% | -27.2% |
| Adelaide | 9,158 | 8,661 | 10,610 | 5.7% | -13.7% |
| Canberra | 4,208 | 3,982 | 3,472 | 5.7% | 21.2% |
| Darwin | 1,577 | 1,517 | 1,575 | 4.0% | 0.1% |
| Hobart | 3,095 | 2,904 | 2,736 | 6.6% | 13.1% |
| National | 256,000 | 239,459 | 249,404 | 6.9% | 2.6% |
Source: SQM Research
New Listings
Nationally, new listings (less than 30 days) increased a further 6.2% in March, to 79,296 properties.
All listed cities besides Perth and Darwin continued to experience increases in new listings to some extent, which has been driven by the normal seasonal increases recorded in the March and February periods of each year.
However, it should be noted there have been large increases in new listings recorded in Sydney and Melbourne compared to the same period in 2023.
For example, Sydney is up by 20.4% compared to March 2023.
New Listings of properties for sale (less than 30 days)
| City | March 2024 Total | February 2024 Total | March 2023 Total | Monthly change | Yearly Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 16,142 | 14,993 | 13,412 | 7.7% | 20.4% |
| Melbourne | 18,340 | 16,483 | 15,718 | 11.3% | 16.7% |
| Brisbane | 8,182 | 7,469 | 7,260 | 9.5% | 12.7% |
| Perth | 6,549 | 6,906 | 7,116 | -5.2% | -8.0% |
| Adelaide | 4,303 | 4,159 | 5,178 | 3.5% | -16.9% |
| Canberra | 1,829 | 1,715 | 1,513 | 6.6% | 20.9% |
| Darwin | 244 | 289 | 392 | -15.6% | -37.8% |
| Hobart | 832 | 743 | 804 | 12.0% | 3.5% |
| National | 79,296 | 74,698 | 75,799 | 6.2% | 4.6% |
Source: SQM Research
Old Listings
In March, older listings (properties listed for over 180 days) recorded a 6.0% increase over the past 12 months.
Notably, most cities recorded an uptick in older stock during the month but are well down on numbers recorded over March 2023.
Old listings (greater than 180 days)
| City | Mar-24 | Feb-24 | Mar-23 | Monthly change | Yearly Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 5,207 | 5,089 | 6,055 | 2.3% | -14.0% |
| Melbourne | 7,877 | 7,872 | 8,980 | 0.1% | -12.3% |
| Brisbane | 2,262 | 2,265 | 3,237 | -0.1% | -30.1% |
| Perth | 2,183 | 2,462 | 4,388 | -11.3% | -50.3% |
| Adelaide | 1,207 | 1,148 | 1,389 | 5.1% | -13.1% |
| Canberra | 584 | 581 | 532 | 0.5% | 9.8% |
| Darwin | 647 | 615 | 677 | 5.2% | -4.4% |
| Hobart | 896 | 811 | 660 | 10.5% | 35.8% |
| National | 69,542 | 65,264 | 65,633 | 6.6% | 6.0% |
Source: SQM Research
Distressed Listings
According to SQM Research's latest report in March 2024, the count of residential properties sold under distressed conditions in Australia has increased marginally to 5,350.
This marks a 0.7% increase from the 5,312 distressed listings noted in February 2024
This month, there has been a significant shift in the data for distressed property listings across different states, with some experiencing large decreases and others increasing.
In NSW, SA, NT, and TAS, there has been a decrease in distressed listings, with reductions of 5.8%, 6.6%, 8.3%, and 5.9% respectively.
However, VIC has continued to show a strong increase of 9.6%.
QLD has reversed its trend from negative to positive, now showing a 2.5% increase, while WA has also shifted from negative to positive, now standing at 2.3%.
ACT has remained steady for the month of February.
Distressed Property Listings
| State | 24-March Total Listings | Monthly change | Yearly change |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 1,329 | -5.8% | 5.1% |
| VIC | 1,025 | 9.6% | 14.8% |
| QLD | 1,712 | 2.5% | -24.4% |
| WA | 843 | 2.3% | -34.3% |
| SA | 211 | -6.6% | -25.7% |
| ACT | 23 | 0.0% | -39.5% |
| NT | 111 | -8.3% | 13.3% |
| TAS | 96 | -5.9% | 3.2% |
| National | 5,350 | 0.7% | -14.0% |
Source: SQM Research
Asking Prices
The national combined dwelling asking price rose by 0.4% to record a median dwelling asking price of $ 824.788.
Asking prices for capital cities decreased by 0.1%, marking a 9.4% rise compared to February 2023.
Sydney's combined asking price saw a notable decrease of 2.3%.
Sydney Weekly Asking Prices Index
| Property type | Price ($) | Weekly Change | Monthly Change % | Annual % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | 1,907.614 | 1.886 | 0.8% | 8.9% |
| All Units | 794.528 | -5.738 | 0.0% | 3.9% |
| Combined | 1,459.720 | -1.182 | 0.6% | 7.4% |
Source: SQM Research
Melbourne Weekly Asking Prices Index
| Property type | Price ($) | Weekly Change | Monthly Change % | Annual % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | 1,262.476 | 7.125 | 1.3% | 8.4% |
| All Units | 605.854 | -0.154 | 0.1% | 2.7% |
| Combined | 1,057.745 | 4.855 | 1.1% | 7.1% |
Source: SQM Research
Perth Weekly Asking Prices Index
| Property type | Price ($) | Weekly Change | Monthly Change % | Annual % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | 968.028 | 2.922 | 1.3% | 17.6% |
| All Units | 507.779 | 2.920 | 4.0% | 18.6% |
| Combined | 848.521 | 2.922 | 1.7% | 17.6% |
Source: SQM Research
Brisbane Weekly Asking Prices Index
| Property type | Price ($) | Weekly Change | Monthly Change % | Annual % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | 1,075.139 | 6.159 | 1.6% | 13.7% |
| All Units | 595.491 | 2.709 | 2.2% | 18.5% |
| Combined | 955.862 | 5.301 | 1.7% | 14.3% |
Source: SQM Research.
Adelaide Weekly Asking Prices Index
| Property type | Price ($) | Weekly Change | Monthly Change % | Annual % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | 879.480 | -3.191 | 0.8% | 14.2% |
| All Units | 441.558 | -0.958 | -0.1% | 12.8% |
| Combined | 800.955 | -2.791 | 0.7% | 14.0% |
Source: SQM Research
Canberra Weekly Asking Prices Index
| Property type | Price ($) | Weekly Change | Monthly Change % | Annual % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | 1,173.433 | -8.183 | -2.4% | 13.5% |
| All Units | 594.791 | 0.684 | -0.6% | 0.8% |
| Combined | 964.046 | -4.974 | -2.0% | 10.1% |
Source: SQM Research
Darwin Weekly Asking Prices Index
| Property type | Price ($) | Weekly Change | Monthly Change % | Annual % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | 672.962 | 9.038 | 2.2% | 0.6% |
| All Units | 371.021 | -3.521 | -1.8% | -1.5% |
| Combined | 554.556 | 4.113 | 1.1% | 0.0% |
Source: SQM Research
Hobart Weekly Asking Prices Index
| Property type | Price ($) | Weekly Change | Monthly Change % | Annual % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | 798.918 | -4.464 | -0.3% | 0.6% |
| All Units | 502.331 | -1.877 | -1.0% | 0.2% |
| Combined | 754.370 | -4.075 | -0.4% | 0.5% |
Source: SQM Research
National Weekly Asking Prices Index
| Property type | Price ($) | Weekly Change | Monthly Change % | Annual % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | 913.513 | 3.661 | 0.3% | 11.0% |
| All Units | 537.054 | 1.022 | 0.2% | 7.2% |
| Combined | 833.120 | 3.097 | 0.3% | 10.4% |
Source: SQM Research
Capital City Average Weekly Asking Prices Index
| Property type | Price ($) | Weekly Change | Monthly Change % | Annual % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Houses | 1,366.262 | 3.009 | 0.8% | 9.9% |
| All Units | 668.229 | -6.540 | -0.3% | 5.3% |
| Combined | 1,161.451 | 0.207 | 0.6% | 8.9% |
Source: SQM Research
Final note...
The Australian housing market has recorded a further increase in activity as measured by the 6.2% increase in new listings over the month of March.
This increase in activity has also shown up in the weekly auction listings which have been at their highest levels since the second half of 2021.
While listings are up across the nation, they are not at levels that would be regarded as an oversupply situation.
Distressed activity was somewhat muted over March with a large decline in NSW distressed listings.
However, Victoria recorded another surge and so we are watching that state closely.
