Selling Season of Spring 2022

Five trends within the Australian property market for Spring 2022:

Increase of new listings and auctions:

In the 28 days to September 4th, the new listings of properties advertised within Australia was higher than any equivalent period from 2019-2021. New listings refer to latest properties which are being added to the market. There was also an 8.2% increase in new listings within the last seven days of August, according to CoreLogic Data. As a result of this, this increase will likely affect the auction market, and will result in an increase of sales through auction.

Winter to Summer - New listings between Australian regions:

Over the past five years (2019-2019), prior to COVID, it was noted that new listings increased on average by 16.9% between winter and spring. This figure fluctuates between cities, where cooler cities such as Canberra (42.4%) and Adelaide (33.7%), experience greater effects during the seasonal transition.

Spring 2021:

Within Spring 2021, the selling season recorded 154,294 new listings, which was significantly larger than the previous decade spring average. Similarly, auction volumes were record-breaking during this period. These high figures were influenced by the restrictions individuals faced during the heightened COVID period between June to October, thus, sellers acted once lockdowns ended. It is unlikely that Spring 2022 will be as significant as the year before, influenced by trends of high interest rates, long time frame for selling properties, and decreasing buyer interest.

Long-term owners increase in sales:

There has been a noticeable rise in the average hold period to sold properties as national home values decrease within the last month. This is due to the risk of buyers making a loss when selling during a downturn in home value. Buyers who have owned their property for a long period are likely to gain from this trend. Although, within the last 30 years, there has been an increase in home value by over 380% in the last 30 years.

Response from sellers:

During this period, it has been noted that properties are taking longer to sell, there has been an increase in contract sale prices on initial listing prices, as well as a noticeable decline in auction clearance rates causing below average auction markets. This season, it is important for sellers to set realistic prices on properties and ensure to obtain superior marketing campaigns, in what is set to be a competitive selling environment.