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PROPERTY LISTINGS FALL IN FEBURARY
by Louis Christopher, CEO
Figures released today by SQM Research reveal national residential property listings fell in February 2021 by 2.7% to 257,592 from 265,116 in January 2021. Compared to 12 months ago, listings are down by 13.1%. The largest monthly decreases were in Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth. Compared to a year earlier, listing fell the most in Hobart and Adelaide.
New Listings (30 days)
Nationally, new listings (30 days) jumped 52.4% over the course of February to 76,430 properties on the market, to be up 6.0% over the year. Canberra new listings jumped the most by 93.8% while Sydney also recorded a robust rise of 70.9%.
The key takeaway from February’s property listing numbers is that despite the rise in new listings nationwide (year-on-year and month-on-month), absorption rates are picking up pace, so much so that total listings actually fell over the same period. Right now demand is swamping supply. And nowhere more is this the case than in regional Australia.
Still, the big test is to come when JobKeeper ends at the end of this month. If there is no evidence of a material fall in clearance rates over April, then nothing is going to stop the market until the day APRA steps to regulate lending in or we have a rate hike from the Reserve Bank.
Asking Prices
Over the past 30 days, national asking prices rose by 0.7% for houses and 1.1% for units. Compared to a year ago, national asking prices posted increases of 8.2% for houses and 6.2% for units. Regional locations have pushed up the national average in a sign that the rental demand of 2020 has now translated into buyer demand causing sharp rises in prices.
In contrast, capital city asking prices have been flat the falling over the same period with Melbourne dragging down the capital city average. Sydney and Hobart recorded substantial month on month increases in asking prices for houses while units in Melbourne continued to be a drag on the market.
AUCTION RESULTS for week ending 28 February 2021
Full individual auction results can be found on our website:
AUCTION LISTINGS* for week ending 7 March 2021
* The above counts of auctions represent most recent known auction dates for the coming week.
DISTRESSED PROPERTY OF THE WEEK
806/156 Wright Street Adelaide SA 5000
This apartment in the Adelaide CBD has spent over one year on the market and the vendor wants to sell quickly. The price has dropped to $555,000 from $590,000 and the vendor says the sale is urgent.
With uninterrupted views all the way to the beach through floor-to-ceiling windows, the two-bedroom apartment coudl have some appeal to buyers. The property comes with lock-up storage and a car park. It features an abundance of natural light, quality fixtures and fittings and a balcony large enough for alfresco dining and with v iews to sea and Adelaide Hills. The building boasts a 22-metre vertical hanging garden - the first of its kind in South Australia. It also offers a rooftop garden with views over the city, 440sqm outdoor kitchen with timber tables and alfresco dining seating, 17-metre lap pool, 60sqm metre gym. Nice touches indeed!
But before you ponder this as your next home or investment property, let's look at the numbers. Asking property prices for 2-bedroom units in the Adelaide CBD are down slightly over the year to 2 March 2021, by 0.3%, and have barely risen over 10 years, up by just 0.4%. Sold records for the 5000 postcode indicate the apartment's price isn't far off from comparable sales.
The story for asking weekly rents is more sober, with asking weekly rates down by around 9.4% over the last 12 months to 28 February. The lack of growth in rents may be explained by the very high vacancy rate of 6.3% in Adelaide CBD in January 2021 and a sharp increase in rent listings in the last year, though that vacancy rate is down from a high of 8.5% in September last year.
So, you might be inclined to haggle some more to seal a bigger discount, and the vendor just might be prepared to give way some more to get this property off their hands.
You can monitor this market and others with SQM Research’s free property data. Also consider the SQM Property Explorer product for more in-depth data and property price estimator.
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