Market on the Cusp of Change

After 18 months of a very clear seller’s market across most of Australia, and certainly very much so on the Sunshine Coast, property analysts and forecasters are warning of a softening in conditions as a surge in new properties hitting the market is providing more choice for buyers, tempering some of the heat.

January and February marked the busiest start to the year for new listings in Australia’s capital cities since 2014, in terms of the number of properties newly advertised for sale on realestate.com.au.

PropTrack economist Angus Moore said the record levels of new supply coming to market in the final months of 2021 and the busy start to 2022 had helped give buyers more choice.

Mr Moore said the latest PropTrack Listings Report showed there was now a little less urgency for buyers and the conditions were not as competitive as late last year, when there was limited stock on the market and very high demand.

“We’re still in a seller’s market but conditions are probably starting to ease a little. As more stock’s come to market buyers have a little bit more choice and properties are not selling quite as quickly, so there’s not as much pressure as there was last year,” he said.

Mr Moore said selling conditions are likely to remain strong during the typically busier autumn selling season but may start to slow later in the year. “While selling conditions look set to remain strong, we are likely to see some tempering from the dominant levels experienced in late 2021.”

Mr Moore said buyer demand remained strong but was easing, and with interest rates looking likely to rise later this year or in early 2023, this may drive a cooling down in the appetite from buyers.

Overall, buyers now have a little more choice again, after a period of limited stock, which is moving to normalise the market and bring it back into more of a state of equilibrium, where there is more parity between the volume of buyer demand and selling stock.

As 2022 has (so far) seen the biggest rise in overall stock for sale since the pandemic began, anyone still considering selling, should give strong consideration to listing sooner rather than later, as it increasingly looks like, and indicators are pointing to, a change in the market.  Timing is key when it comes to maximising capital gain, and we could be very close to, or at the peak, of this latest cycle – so waiting is not necessarily going to be the best option if you are a seller. This may be as good as it gets for now, and it’s certainly been very good for sellers.

Please give me a call or send an email if you’ve been thinking of selling for a confidential chat.

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