Spring selling season has got off to an early start in pockets of Sydney’s far north and southwest.
The regions have recorded a surge in real estate listings at a time when selling activity across much of the rest of the market has been in a winter lull.
REA Group data showed south-western suburb Gregory Hills recorded a 75 per cent jump in new listings between 2015 and 2016, the biggest increase along the eastern seaboard.
Much of that jump was the result of new housing estates streaming onto the market in the last few weeks. The spike pushed the suburb into the top four Sydney areas with the most listings, behind western suburbs Spring Farm, Ingleburn and Jordan Springs.
Other suburbs in the Macarthur region such as Minto, Glen Alpine, Rosemeadow, Chipping Norton and Campbelltown recorded an increase in listings of more than 30 per cent.
In the Hornsby region, Waitara had a 67 per cent spike in new listings after being tightly held for some time.
Last year, there were fewer than 10 properties advertised for sale in the northern suburb, but in recent weeks more than 50 homes have come onto the market.
Newly advertised properties included townhouses, detached houses and apartments, many of which were available off-the-plan.
The total volume of listings in Sydney as a whole has been tracking downward for some time.
Core Logic research indicated the number of newly advertised homes has dropped by almost a third over the past year.
There are now roughly 18,000 homes for sale across the city — well below the long-term average of about 25,000 to 30,000.
REA Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee says the current listings slump has been self-fulfilling.
Homeowners have been reluctant to sell because the choice of homes available to them is limited, which has further aggravated the housing shortage, she said. Property owners in suburbs that saw recent price increases have been more open to selling, sensing the opportunity to cash in, Ms Conisbee added.
“People need some sort of trigger to sell,” she said.
“A large portion of homeowners tend to list their homes when they believe they will get a good result and that explains some of the recent increases in listings in Sydney’s west.”
Spikes in properties entering the market in Minto and Rosemeadow were cases in point — both suburbs had median price increases of around 25 per cent over the past year.
Richardson and Wrench-Campbelltown sales manager Russell Wyer said property prices in the wider Macarthur region dropped by roughly 10 per cent over last year’s Christmas period, discouraging many homeowners from selling.
Prices have since recovered to the levels they were before, and in some suburbs, have grown substantially.
“It’s a good time to be selling again,” Mr Wyer said.
Typical homes in the area are priced at about $600,000 and have four bedrooms and a double garage.
Article by Aiden Devine | Daily Telegraph | 8 August 2016
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