Wednesday, 7 October 2020

Stock declines in September (unusual for Spring)

Listings down

Stock listings declined in September to be -7.4 per cent lower than a year earlier, according to SQM Research.  

The monthly decline was largely driven by a -4.2 per cent drop in Melbourne. 

A decline in total listings is unusual for the spring selling season. 


From a year earlier there have been huge percentage declines in stock in Darwin (-27 per cent) and Hobart (-18 per cent).

Melbourne stock is flat year-on-year with 34,771 listings (with new listings down more than 50 per cent), but Sydney was some way higher than a year ago at 31,429. 

All other capitals were tighter year-on-year.


Nationally there were 289,566 listings as at September 2020, compared to 312,754 a year earlier, according to SQM. 

SQM reported in its media release that absorption rates were improving following an increase in buyer activity over the month.

There have also been increases in asking prices, auction clearance rates, and housing finance approvals. reported SQM.