National August property listings hit lowest in more than a decade: SQM

Compared to 12 months ago, national property listings are down 26%, with the biggest falls in Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide, Canberra and Brisbane.

Figures released by SQM Research reveal national residential property listings fell in August 2021 by 9.6% to 215,911 from 238,834 in July 2021.

It represents the lowest count of listings recorded by SQM Research since it begun its series in January 2010.

Louis Christopher, managing director of SQM Research said Sydney saw a 19.7% decline in new listings.

"Older listings also had another monthly fall, indicating strong absorption rates across the country." he noted.

"Going forward we are cautious for the market given the likely economic damage as a result of these latest city wide closures," Christopher said.

Nationally, new listings (Less than 30 days) fell 7.8% over August 2021 to 65,948 properties on the market, though they rose 8% over the year.

New listings dropped the most in Melbourne followed by Canberra, down by 31.2% and 21.2%, respectively.

Over the year, new listings rose the most in Darwin, by 50.3% as they seek to take advantage of strong market conditions.

In a sign that older stock is clearing, property listings over 180 days dropped by 10.3% in August 2021 and they are down 53.2% over the year, with monthly falls posted recorded in all capital cities, led by Canberra.