Real Estate and Property Market News

The pace of Melbourne property sales has moderated, while listings rise, in a trend expected to prompt some sellers to rethink their asking prices. The time between the listing of a property and its sale has increased steadily since March in Melbourne with houses and units spending an average of 73 days on the market in June, up from 67 in May, according to Australian Property Monitors. Those figures remain well above the long-term average of 60 days, the data show. Property generally sells within a week or two of being passed in at auction, said Michael Fry of Northcote-based office of Nelson Alexander Real Estate, a bit longer than the one or two days required in March. “We’re probably just in a period of reacting to a changing market at the moment,” he said. Auction clearance rates have shown signs of cooling since March. This weekend clearance rates fell to 67 per cent, according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, after vaulting as high as 80 per cent at the beginning of the year. Australia’s property market has been slowed by rising interest rates, lingering economic uncertainty and a shortage of affordable housing. “Once buyers and vendors adapt to the new market we’re going to see it spring very quickly, particularly in our areas,” said Mr Fry. Bayside-based Chisholm & Gamon agency associate Sam Gamon said the market was finding a new equilibrium after a June lull. “There was a slight lag where I suppose there weren’t enough sales for purchasers to feel confident,” he said. “But we’ve done enough sales over the last couple of weeks that we’re finding sellers and purchasers are meeting once more.” June sales slowed after the Reserve Bank raised interest rates to 4.5 per cent in May only to be followed immediately by a burst of panic-selling on global sharemarkets which have since calmed. Although Fairfax-owned APM has not produced a July time-on-market figure yet, data released from SQM Research which showed a 6.9 per cent rise in Melbourne listings to 31,433 properties. The third month of increases suggests more choice in property for fewer buyers.