Capital cities have experienced a significant increase in new listings, with Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra recording their highest August figures in over a decade, according to new data.
According to PropTrack, national new listing volumes in August were 6.6 per cent higher over the month but 0.7 per cent lower year-on-year.
While the capital cities saw new listings jump 8 per cent over the month.
PropTrack Director of Economic Research Cameron Kusher said the latest figures show that there’s confidence in the major cities.
“National new listing volumes rose for the fourth time in the past five months in August, to be at their highest since May 2024,” Mr Kusher said.
He said that while national new listings were slightly lower than a year ago, capital cities bucked this trend.
“The capital cities have seen a 1.6 per cent rise in new listings year-on-year while new listing volumes have lowered in regional markets, declining 4.7 per cent year-on-year,” he said.
Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra led the charge, with Mr Kusher highlighting their performance.
“Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra had the highest number of new listings for an August since 2012, 2011, and 2004, respectively,” he said.
Mr Kusher said the surge in listings has resulted in increased options for buyers.
“The ongoing strong new listings environment has resulted in more choice for buyers with total properties advertised for sale up 4.5 per cent in August from a year earlier,” he said.
However, not all capital cities saw increases.
“Although new listings were higher over the year in the combined capital cities, Hobart (-17 per cent), Darwin (-15.7 per cent), and Adelaide (-6.5 per cent) saw annual declines in new listings in August,” he said.
Total listings were 4.6 per cent higher over the year across the combined capital cities, but they were lower in Brisbane (-3.8 per cent), Adelaide (-14.1 per cent), Perth (-19.7 per cent), and Darwin (-8.4 per cent).
The largest increase in total listing volumes over the year were in Canberra (22.4 per cent), Melbourne (15 per cent), and Sydney (13.2 per cent) with Sydney and Melbourne accounting for 63.7 per cent of total capital city listings, the greatest share since the beginning of 2016.
Looking ahead, Mr Kusher said that the influx of new listings could impact market dynamics.
“While the strong volume of new listings and total properties for sale is an indicator of seller confidence, it remains a key contributor to slowing home price growth,” he said.
