Where properties are selling the fastest and slowest in 2021

Strength in Australia’s residential property market has proven to be somewhat of a global phenomenon during the COVID-19 health crisis. 

Factors such as anchored historic low interest rates have indeed assisted, with residential property prices surging on the back of strong demand and limited supply. 

One of the big changes recorded on realestate.com.au is the shorter length of time properties are remaining on site, further highlighting robust demand and competition for stock. 

In June 2021, the typical days on site for properties for sale was 38 days compared to 71 days in June 2020 and 67 days in June 2019.  

Across every capital city and rest of state region, days on site for properties for sale was lower in June 2021 than it was in June 2020. It is the same case when comparing June 2021 to June 2019, with regional Northern Territory the only exception. 

The Australian residential property market has remained strong throughout the pandemic. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy

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Over recent months, many capital city and rest of state regions throughout the country recorded record-low days on site. 

Incredibly, of the 88 regions nationally, 87 had a shorter number of days on site for properties for sale in June 2021 compared to a year earlier. The exception was Melbourne – Inner East where there was no change over the year. 

Sydney’s Northern Beaches currently has the nation’s shortest days on site at just 22 days with days on site having fallen by 14 days over the year.  

Looking at the 10 regions with the shortest days on site, eight of them are in NSW and only one of those eight, Illawarra, is not part of the Greater Sydney region. 

Properties in Outback Queensland are currently spending the longest time on site at 145 days. While properties in this region are still taking a long time to sell, it is a dramatic improvement on the 222 days on site a year ago. 

In fact, five regions nationally had a larger number of days on site a year ago than Outback Queensland currently has. 

The 10 regions with the most days on site are all outside of the capital city areas. This points to the fact that although demand for regional property has increased significantly over the past year, the selling process and time it takes to sell remains generally longer than in a capital city. 

The Hunter Valley excluding Newcastle recorded the largest fall in days on site over the year, shifting from 90 days in June 2020 to 29 days in June 2021, representing a 67.8% decline. 

Of the top 10 regions with the biggest year-on-year negative change in median days on market, Central Coast and Adelaide Central and Hills are the only two in a capital city region, reflecting the significant increase in demand for regional properties, which has led to a faster selling process. 

The top 10 regions with the smallest percentage decline in days on site over the year are dominated by capital city regions, which account for seven of the 10. 

Notably, four of the 10 are Melbourne regions with a further three in Sydney. This reflects the shift in demand away from properties in larger capital cities since the pandemic hit.

In Melbourne in particular, the smaller decline in days on site in some ways reflects the scarring from the extended lockdown in 2020, although it should be noted Melbourne was not in lockdown for all of June 2020. 

There was a slight increase in days on site nationally in June 2021. With several states experiencing lockdowns and restrictions during July, an increase in days on site is likely to be reflected in future data. 

Sydney is now facing a lengthy lockdown and that is likely to lead to further increases while the lockdown is in place. 

We still have historic low borrowing costs, and the Reserve Bank of Australia has continued to indicate rates will not increase until 2024. 

Given this, demand for properties will remain at heightened levels, which is expected to continue to push up property prices across the county.