Listings surge
SQM Research reported an increase in capital city property listings in August.
Sydney recorded its biggest monthly increase in new listings (+10.5 per cent) since SQM's records began in 2009.
Melbourne also a sharp increase in listings, but in Brisbane there was another modest decline.
Canberra saw by far the largest rise in total listings in August.
Despite this listings overall remain low, and lower than a year ago.
Listings are especially lower than a year ago in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.
Asking prices increased again in August to be 7.2 per cent higher than a year earlier, with Sydney asking prices rising 1.1 per cent in August, with houses in the New South Wales capital now up 10 per cent from a year ago.
The strongest increase in asking prices was seen for units in Brisbane, up 13.7 per cent over the year, with more rises recorded in August.
Economy slows
The GDP figures for the June quarter should just about be rescued by a stronger than expected contribution from net exports, which will contribute approximately 0.8 percentage points to economic growth in the June quarter.
Falling commodity prices did begin to reduce Australia's surprisingly large current account surplus in the June quarter.
James Foster ran through the nitty gritty here.
Interest rates on hold again
Despite this, the household consumption figures look diabolical as higher mortgage rates bite, and the Reserve Bank kept interest rates on hold again as expected today, for a 3rd consecutive month.
Louis Christopher of SQM Research anticipates that property buyer FOMO (fear of missing out) will now explode as homebuyers and investors see the next move in interest rates as being down in 2024.
A strong start to 2024 is now expected for property prices.
