After a discount on property in Perth or Brisbane? Your chances are just about zero

The chance of buying a property below the asking price in Brisbane or Perth are super-slim, with new data revealing houses and units are selling in record time amid a severe shortage of stock for sale.

The time it takes to sell a house or unit in Perth and Brisbane has been consistently trending downwards, Domain data shows.

In Brisbane, the average time it takes to sell a unit is just 35 days – the fastest rate in the nation – and for a house, it is 42 days, the second-fastest average.

Houses in Perth sell the fastest out of any capital city in Australia, spending an average of 30 days on market. Units take 49 days.

Aman Singh of The Best Realty Group in Perth says buyers have been out in force, and properties have been going under offer in a matter of days.

“I launched a property in Armadale this week at 16/9 Gladstone Road and within two hours, we had someone send an offer over $15,000 more than what we were pricing it,” he says. “And these aren’t just for houses; people are purchasing units as well.”

SOLD - $500,000

16/9 Gladstone Road, Armadale WA 6112

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The combination of swift sales and limited supply points to a highly competitive marketplace, says Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell.

Domain’s data shows there was only a small number of new listings across Perth and Brisbane in June. For all property types, there was an increase in new listings of 1.1 per cent in Perth over the month, and 3.6 per cent over the year. In Brisbane, the figures were 5.5 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively. 

“If you look back at the history of days on the market in both Perth and Brisbane, back to the beginning of 2019, properties were spending close to 100 days on the market in Brisbane and more than 100 days in Perth,” Powell says. “Now, both cities are recording the shortest time on market of all capitals.

“Overall, choice is limited so there haven’t been enough listings coming on, or new listings coming on relative to the demand that’s there.”

Brisbane agent David Huynh of Ray White North Lakes says Brisbane’s market has changed drastically in a few years.

SOLD - $795,000

8 Straight Drive, Browns Plains QLD 4118

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“When I moved to Queensland in 2019, there were more than 120 open homes on any given Saturday,” he says. “And as of right now, I have 17 open homes across this whole week.

“There were just so many properties hitting the market a few years ago and now there’s just a lack there of it – but buyers are plenty and demand has definitely increased.”

As a result, properties are selling for prices well above expectation, Singh adds, and many buyers are missing out.

When it comes to houses selling for less than their advertised asking price, Perth’s Armadale region recorded one of the lowest rates of discounting at 4.8 per cent. In Greater Brisbane, North Lakes and Browns Plains also recorded some of the lowest rates, at 4.6 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.

SOLD - $1,000,000

4 Lanagan Circuit, North Lakes QLD 4509

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“I don’t believe any buyer can expect any sort of discount at all in these areas right now because the demand is very much out there,” says Singh, who specialises in the Armadale region. “People are chasing the house prices here, and at the moment, I would say that 60 to 70 per cent of our buyers are interstate investors. 

“When you look at prices here compared to Sydney and Melbourne, a lot of buyers feel confident in investing here, and while local buyers are disappointed by that outside demand, at the end of the day, we work for the seller’s best interest.”

Huynh says that, in some ways, the North Lakes market is stronger now than it was at the start of the year.

SOLD - $1,230,000

50 Liberty Circuit, North Lakes QLD 4509

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“I had a property at 50 Liberty Circuit, North Lakes, that we put on the market at the start of the year,” he says. “At the time, we were looking at a guide of $1.1 million. So we decided to pull it from the market and put it back on after the Easter break and we ended up selling it for $1.23 million.

“Buyers have that fear of missing out. The amount of open homes that we’re conducting now is so limited so people want in, otherwise they’ll miss out.”

There are a number of regions where houses are selling for less than their asking prices, particularly Pittwater, Richmond Valley-Coastal and Eastern Suburbs-South in Sydney.

Other discounted regions across the country were Noosa Hinterland and Port Goudlas-Daintreee in Queensland, and Central Highlands in Tasmania.