Strong demand drives time taken to sell a property to its fastest level in at least five years, while average views per listing surge to a new historic high
PropTrack Housing Market Indicators Report is a monthly report combining eight key metrics to provide an up-to-date view of the property market and emerging trends.
The report analyses consumer behaviour in real time by extracting property market insights from the millions of Australians who visit realestate.com.au each month.
Key metrics include search activity, email enquiry, views per listing, weekly sales of properties listed for sale on realestate.com.au, days on site of properties sold, filtered searches by price and by bedroom, and developer enquiry.
Download the PropTrack Housing Market Indicators Report – November 2021
Executive summary
Easing restrictions and the spring selling season supported strong activity in the housing market in October.
Nationally, weekly sales volumes reached their highest level this year at the end of October and volumes are much higher right around the country than at the same time last year.
Indicators of buyer demand show property seekers are extremely motivated. Search volumes continued to pick up in October and reached record highs in mid-October. Email enquiries remain around record highs.
Strong competition from buyers has seen the median number of days on site – the median time a property is listed on realestate.com.au before we are advised it has sold – reach its fastest level on record. In October, the median time a property was listed was just 31 days, a full week faster than in September. Days on site declined particularly sharply in Melbourne as its lockdown began to ease and in-person property inspections resumed in mid-September.
This rapid pace of sales is consistent with strong demand from buyers and a relatively limited stock of houses available for sale – particularly in regional areas.
Where to from here?
Looking forward, the 23.6% surge in prices we’ve seen over the past year will likely start to ease given the benefits of lower mortgage rates are likely already baked into prices.
We’re also facing into some emerging, though distant, headwinds. The banking regulator APRA has tightened how banks conduct serviceability, which will reduce the maximum amount some buyers can borrow. While these changes are likely to have only a small impact, APRA has flagged the potential for further tightening.
The RBA has also flagged that interest rate rises – while still a way off – may come a little sooner than previously expected. At its board meeting this month, the RBA dropped one of its crisis-era support measures and signalled an increased likelihood, but not yet an expectation, that interest rates will start to rise earlier than the previous guidance of 2024.
Key metrics in the report
- Total search volume
- Email enquiry by property type
- Email enquiry by enquirer type
- Average views per listing
- Number of properties sold
- Median days on site
- Searches by maximum price
- Searches by minimum number of bedrooms
- Developer enquiries
Download the PropTrack Housing Market Indicators Report – November 2021
Total search volumes
Property seekers staying active as lockdowns lift
Search interest continued to pick up as lockdowns lifted. Search volumes in October were 1.9% higher than in September.
While volumes are up, growth has started to moderate. Nationally, search volumes were up 9.1% in the last week of October compared to the same time last year. Although this is strong, it is slower than the 15-20% growth rates we have seen for the past few months.
Victoria and (to a lesser extent) the ACT saw a strong pick up in search volumes towards the end of September. Both states changed restrictions in mid-September to allow in-person property inspections to resume as their lockdowns eased, motivating buyers.
Only NSW saw a moderation in search volumes in October, down 3.5% compared to September. Nonetheless, search activity remains very strong – indicative of strong buyer interest – with search volumes in NSW up 9% compared to the same time last year.
Email enquiry by property type
Enquiries stabilise at a high level
The volume of email enquiries to real estate agents on realestate.com.au was broadly flat in the month but remained around record high levels. With many restrictions on inspections still in place, it’s unsurprising to see many prospective buyers reaching out to agents.
Houses saw a small monthly increase in enquiries (+1.1%); enquiries for units and land were down slightly but remain more than triple levels in January 2019.
Houses remain the dominant type of property enquired about, with 62.5% of all enquiries. Units accounted 29.5% of enquiries in October, while enquiries about land slipped to just 7.9% of enquiries. This represents its lowest share of enquiries in the past three years.
Email enquiry by enquirer type
Enquiries from first home buyers remain high
Interest from first home buyers remains high, but came a little off its peak in September, with enquiries down 2.4% month-on-month.
Investor enquiry also remained at a very high level and is more than double the level a year ago. Declared interest from buyers, typically owner-occupiers, picked up a little in October as well. However, interest has cooled from earlier in the year.
The realestate.com.au experience was changed during July, offering more ways in which an enquirer could define themselves, which may have impacted results.
Product changes aside, there is a clear picture of first-home buyer and investor interest.
Average views per listings
Average views per listing surge to new historic high
Views per listing surged 9.4% in October month-on-month to reach a new historic high. Average views per for sale listings are now 46.4% higher than at the same time last year.
Demand was strong right across the country, with historic high views per listing in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra as well as nearly all regional areas. Views per listing were down slightly in Sydney (-2.7% month-on-month) but remain at a very high level (up more than 20% compared to the same time last year).
Historic views per listings reflects both very high interest from buyers (as seen in strong search volumes) and the relatively low volume of stock available for sale, particularly in regional areas. The good news for buyers is that we have started to see more stock for sale coming to market as restrictions lift and the spring selling season gets underway. Nonetheless, buyers will continue to face tough competition, with strong buyer interest competing for a limited stock of options for sale.
Download the PropTrack Housing Market Indicators Report – November 2021
Number of properties sold
Sales volumes up sharply as lockdowns lift and the spring selling season supports activity
Preliminary sales volumes reached their highest level this year at the end of October. This capped off a strong period of sales, where preliminary sales volumes rose to be 14% higher over the past four weeks than in the prior four weeks.
Sales have been buoyed by easing lockdowns and the return of in-person property inspections in Melbourne and Canberra. October is also a seasonally strong month for sales, as vendors look to sell during spring.
Despite recent months of lockdowns, sales volumes are materially higher this year than in 2019 or 2020. Over the year so far, cumulative sales are 45% higher than at the same time last year.
Median days on site
Days on site declined sharply in October
The median number of days a property was listed on realestate.com.au before we are advised it has sold declined by a week in October 2021, from 38 days to just 31 days. This is the fastest time on record.
Much of the national decline has been driven by Victoria, where properties were selling in a median time of just 27 days in October, down from 42 days in September. Days on site also continued to decline in NSW.
The rapid pace of sales is consistent with the strong demand that we see across enquiries and searches on realestate.com.au, coupled with the relatively limited stock of houses available for sale – particularly in regional areas. This means buyers are having to make quick decisions in the face of tight competition.
Searches by maximum price
Million dollar plus searches becoming the norm as prices surge
Surging property prices have meant that prospective buyers are looking at higher price points. Throughout the combined capital cities, just under half (46.6%) of searches were for properties listed at a price over $1 million. A year ago, that share was just 37.8%.
The share of searches in the seven-figure range are particularly high in Sydney and Melbourne. More than two-thirds of filtered searches in Sydney are for $1 million plus properties; in Melbourne it’s more than half. In Sydney, 15% of searches are for properties listed above $3 million, up from 10% a year ago.
Demand for properties remains strong and borrowing costs are low, and will likely remain so for some time. Although there are some signs of price growth moderating, given the exceptional price growth across the country in 2021, price filter searches for higher priced properties are likely to remain high.
Searches by minimum number of bedrooms
Pandemic-driven shift towards larger homes continues
Nationally, there has been a very slight fall in the number of searches for properties with at least three bedrooms over the past year, but most property seekers continue to search for a minimum of three bedrooms.
In October 2021, 66.4% of all filtered searches on realestate.com.au across the capital cities were for a minimum of 3 bedrooms. This is slightly down compared to October 2020.
Buyers searching in regional areas even more heavily favour space, with 72.9% of searches seeking at least 3 bedrooms. As with those searching in capital cities, this share is slightly down compared to October 2020.
Space will continue to be an important factor for many buyers, despite the rapid ~20% price rises over the past year, and we expect demand for larger properties will likely remain substantial.
Developer enquiries
Developer enquiries remain strong
Enquiries to developers eased from their historic high in September, down 3.9% month on month. Nonetheless, enquiries are at a very high level, up 45.2% year-on-year.
Despite concerns that the end of HomeBuilder would lead to a dramatic fall in demand for new homes, this has not yet occurred. Enquiries for new land estates decreased marginally in October, down 6.5% compared to September. Despite declining, October is still the second highest month on record (after September), and enquiries are up 85.2% compared to this time last year.
Download the PropTrack Housing Market Indicators Report – November 2021