regional property update

Queensland

Cairns – listings currently sit at a level 25% higher than the same period last year, this result represents the greatest annual increase in listings across the period 2005 to 2008.

Townsville - listings have increased by 34% during the last year, the greatest annual increase in listings during the last three years.

Sunshine Coast – listings have recorded an increase of 4% during the last 12 months, which represents the smallest annual increase in listings at any time between 2005 and 2008.

Gold Coast – listings have increased by 390 or 24% over the last 12 months which represents the greatest annual increase in listings during the last three years.

New South Wales

Coffs Harbour – listings have been relatively flat compared to the same time last year remaining at around 545 for the quarter and comparatively, this year has seen the smallest annual increase in listings.

Newcastle – the number of properties listed has increased by 15% during the last year, which is a significant reduction on the increase in listings of 26% (2005 to 2006) and 29% (2006 to 2007).

Wollongong – the number of property listings have increased by 24% over the last 12 months, a vast improvement on the increase of 147% recorded during the previous year.

Victoria

Bendigo – the last year has seen the number of properties listed for sale drop by 9.0% after recording an increase in listing of 23% during the previous year.

Geelong – property listings in Geelong have dropped by 3.6% during the last 12 months which represents a significant improvement from the 22% jump in listings over the previous year.

Surf Coast – the number of properties listed for sale across the region has declined by 8% during the last year following a 7% increase in property listings during the previous year.

South Australia

Victor Harbor – of all regional areas analysed, Victor Harbor has seen the greatest decline in the number of listings with the number of properties for sale
reducing by 19%, this result follows on from a decline in listings of 6% during the previous 12 months.

Whyalla – listings have more than doubled over the last 12 months, increasing by 111% despite this significant increase in listings the increase during the last year was significantly less than the year previous, when listings grew by 232%.

Western Australia

Bunbury – the number of properties listed for sale has climbed by 23% during the last 12 months, which when compared to the previous 12 months, in which listings increased by 290%, is a comparatively strong result.

Geraldton – listings of properties for sale has increased by 30% in the last 12 months despite this strong increase in listings, the 12 months previous saw an increase in listings of 161%.

Broome – the region has seen the number of properties listed for sales increase by 17% over the last year, comparatively this is a strong improvement over the previous year, when listings jumped by 95% during 2006 and 2007.

Across the major regional areas, all regions in Victoria have witnessed a reduction in the number of listings during the last quarter when compared to the same quarter last year suggesting that demand in these areas remains in line with supply and that there isn’t a large amount of forced sales occurring.

All highlighted Queensland regional areas except for the Sunshine Coast have recorded their greatest percentage increase in listings during the last year which suggests the level of stock on-the-market far outweighs the number of buyers currently in the market.

Meanwhile, New South Wales and Western Australia's’ regional areas have seen a significant reduction in the rate of growth of listings during the last year in spite of the fact that these have remained the two softest mainland Australian markets. These results suggest that supply of stock in these areas is beginning to moderate and owners are holding off on selling their properties however, given stock levels are continuing to increase it does suggest that a greater number of people need to sell and that there aren’t a significant number of buyers in the market currently.

Finally South Australia has witnessed the second successive year of reductions in available stock in the Victor Harbor area and the second successive year of significant listings growth in Whyalla. These results suggest that properties in Victor Harbor are becoming more tightly held with fewer properties being listed for sale whilst significant new supply is coming on line, likely due to the mining and resource boom across Australia which is fuelling demand for housing in areas such as Whyalla.

These results again highlight that Australia is in the midst of a buyers market. For those who have the capacity , there is a large amount of stock on the market and few buyers. It is felt that the best window of opportunity to buy will be during the next six to nine months with purchasers continuing to be in the best possible position to negotiate as supply in the market far outstrips current demand.