Vendors are getting active across Melbourne with new data showing that new listings and auctions are on the rise.
According to the Proptrack Listings Report January 2024, the number of new listings in Melbourne, was 27.8% higher compared to the same time last year, making it the busiest January since 2008.
After a period of rising interest rates, confidence had fallen among sellers and many vendors either took their homes off the market or decided to sit and wait. With the sharp rebound in property prices that Melbourne has seen over the past six to twelve months, confidence is now coming back and vendors are again prepared to sell their homes.
According to PropTrack, choice for buyers in Melbourne dipped slightly in January due to the limited number of new properties hitting the market in December amid the end-of-year break.
Nonetheless, buyers across Melbourne enjoyed healthy choice, with the total number of properties listed for sale 16% higher than a year ago. That means the total number of properties listed for sale was sitting just above its average over the past decade.
Regional Victoria also saw a stronger start to the year than last year. New listings regionally were up 8.4% year-on-year. That helped lift choice for buyers, with the total number of properties listed for sale up 36.5% year-on-year to be around 10% below its average over the past decade.
The surge in new listings is also starting to show up in the number of properties going to auction. While it is one of the largest auction markets in the country, this week there is going to be approximately 50% of the total auctions coming out of Melbourne.
According to CoreLogic, Melbourne is set to be the busiest auction market this week, with 1,405 homes currently scheduled for auction, up 40.9% week-on-week (997). This time last year, 1,161 homes were taken to auction across the city. This week is now set to be the busiest auction week for Melbourne since the week ending 10th December 2023 (1,415).
Last week, there were 997 homes taken to auction across Melbourne, up from 664 over the previous week and 814 this time last year. Despite the higher volumes week-on-week, Melbourne’s final clearance rate came in at 66.2%, just 70 basis points lower than the previous week (66.9%).
The results are also higher than the 65.6% of auctions that were successful this time last year.
Clearly, confidence is returning to the market and vendors are now prepared to capitalise on the ongoing supply shortage as well as the huge demand that is currently being created because of Australia’s record-high level of population growth.
There is also a growing likelihood that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will cut the official cash rate at some point this year. That is likely to see even more demand come into the market and that will encourage more sellers to list their homes.
