There’s been a sharp rise in new property listings across Australia, with the Ray White group reporting an 11.6 per cent jump in year on year new stock in September.
The leading Australian network saw the biggest rise in new listings in Victoria with a 29 per cent jump in live listings to 1430 in September, followed by New South Wales with a 10 per cent jump, and Queensland with an eight per cent rise in new stock. The trend has continued on the same path in the first week in October.
The real estate market in Victoria continues to gather momentum with the return of private inspections in Melbourne.
Ray White Victoria and Tasmania CEO Stephen Dullens (pictured) said customers were returning to the market now that inspections were once again allowed, with more and more listings coming to market amid huge demand from buyers.
“With the return of physical inspections, confidence is once again returning to the market as buyers and sellers make up for time lost in lockdown. Despite these challenges, the market has not missed a beat with strong clearance rates showing extremely strong demand from buyers continue to exist. Buyers and sellers continue to embrace the online auction format, with scheduled auctions increasing every week during October,” Mr Dullens said.
Ray White Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee said lockdowns, riots and then an earthquake had meant a pretty tough couple of months for Melbourne residents.
“Good news however for buyers is that it has become easier to inspect property. This means more properties available for sale. There's been a sharp rise for properties for sale across Victoria which is good news for buyers to have more choice.”
Melbourne has had the tightest restrictions for real estate of all cities. Banning open for inspections meant a big drop in properties available to buy.
“Despite this, we did see a rise in properties being purchased sight unseen - over a four week period, Ray White sold more than 400 properties in Victoria alone. While the number being purchased this way will now decline, it does show how much buying and selling property has changed during the pandemic,” Ms Conisbee said.
“Advances to technology such as digital inspections and online auctions are the main ones that will influence selling activity going forward,” she said.
