Listings Drop Puts Pressure On Prices

Home buyers have been active in markets across Australia, making the most of favourable lending conditions by buying up and depleting stock levels of properties for sale.

The latest figures from SQM Research show listings nationwide fell 12% in December compared to the same time a year earlier.

The stock shortage has inspired a rise in asking prices, with the national average rising by 2.4% for houses and 0.8% for units during December.

Data from realestate.com.au shows a surge in buyers searching for properties in many states, with Brisbane recording a 63% jump in searches, NSW 50% and Victoria 36% over the year to December.

That trend is set to continue into the early months of 2020, according to analysts and agents, causing more vendors to list their properties for sale.

“When people get confident that the market has turned around and they can see the demand there, then the listings pick up,” AMP Capital’s chief economist Shane Oliver says.