The Canberra south region where new listings more than doubled post-coronavirus crisis: new data

Home owners in Canberra’s south were more likely to sell their homes after restrictions eased while sellers in the north were hesitant to take the plunge, as the ACT slowly emerged from the coronavirus pandemic, according to new Domain data.

In the four weeks to June 14, the Inner South led the charge with the highest increase in new listings – up 103 per cent, compared to the previous four weeks.

Elsewhere in Canberra’s south, Weston Creek and Tuggeranong saw new listings increase by 28 per cent and 14 per cent respectively, compared to the four weeks prior.

The only region in the south that bucked the trend was Woden Valley, which recorded a slight decline in new listings – down 6 per cent.

Louise Harget of Belle Property Kingston attributed the south-side increase to the number of apartments that came onto market.

“If you look at the new houses in those particular regions, taking all the apartments out, it’ll be a very different picture,” Ms Harget said.

“There’s a lot of apartments on sale, perhaps an over-supply of them, but not many are selling. We have a pool of buyers who are particularly interested in buying a house over a unit. We have too many buyers for the houses that we have in stock.”

While more units were coming to market than houses on average, there were only one or two buyers who’d purchase an apartment, Ms Harget said.

“When new apartments list, the days on market are quite long … it has to be really special to sell,” she said.

While the return of open home inspections and on-site auctions had lifted market confidence, many vendors were reluctant to sell their homes during the economic downturn and uncertainty, agents said.

In Canberra’s north, the only region that recorded an increase in new listings in the four weeks to June 14 was Gungahlin at 9 per cent, compared to the previous four weeks.

The regions of Belconnen and the Inner North saw a decline of 19 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively.

Mark Larmer of Independent Inner North & City said demand exceeded supply in the house market.

“Investors are selling their apartments to focus on their primary house … while further away from the CBD [in Canberra’s north], more people are likely to hold from selling,” said Mr Larmer.

“The house market is still strong, the demand is high for houses but there isn’t enough of them.”

Despite previous reports that saw property prices discounted in March as a result of the uncertain economic climate brought on by the COVID-19 crisis, Mr Larmer said he hadn’t discounted any properties in recent weeks.

“We price properties according to the current market we’re in and have adopted a strategy that is very effective in this climate,” Mr Larmer said.

“Rather than giving a high selling price, we start low and work our way up. Because there are a number of buyers out there, when you price it low, genuine buyers will fight for the home and increase the price guide.”

When looking at a year-on-year comparison, Canberra’s inner-ring regions including the Inner South and Inner North saw new listings jump in the four weeks to June 14 by 46 per cent and 10 per cent respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the regions outside of Canberra’s inner ring saw new listings decline compared to the same period last year.

“The increase in new listings in the Inner North and Inner South are boosted by investors who are selling off their apartments, it’s investors who’ve lost a tenant during COVID-19 or had an Airbnb,” Mr Larmer said.

He also noted that the pent-up supply in the inner-ring regions stemmed from sellers who had held off at the start of the year.

“Instead of new listings increasing in February or March, sellers have held off and are slowly starting to flood in the market in a short space of time,” he said.

Domain senior research analyst Dr Nicola Powell said across all capital cities the property market had slowed at the height of the pandemic but had rebounded in recent weeks.

“We saw a pullback in seller activity and that correlated to the restrictions that were in place and, as we’ve seen those restrictions ease, sellers are returning to the market and we’re seeing more prospective home owners start their buying journey,” Dr Powell said.

“In Canberra, we’re seeing a number of regions rebound from that low period and I anticipate activity levels to improve.”

Ms Harget tipped the number of houses for sale to soar in the coming months as restrictions ease in the capital. 

“The spring market will probably hit a little bit earlier compared to other years, simply because the demand is there for housing stock,” Ms Harget said.

“People might be inclined to start selling their houses in July or August rather than waiting for a typical springtime market … the volume of weekend auctions may also increase. I think buyers are relieved that things are getting back to normal, and sellers alike.”