Where homes are taking longer to sell, and where they’re being snapped up

The extraordinary run in property price growth appears to be over, however properties are still being snapped up at rapid speeds across the country.

But as more supply continues to hit the market, new data shows many properties are sitting on the market for longer.

So, where is it still a seller’s market? And where is the pendulum swinging?

Properties in Brisbane’s picturesque Fig Tree Pocket recorded the largest fall in days on market. Picture: realestate.com.au

PropTrack data measuring the median number of days a property was listed on realestate.com.au before it sold revealed Fig Tree Pocket in Brisbane’s west had the biggest fall in days on market over the year to April, with houses selling in a median 11 days, 89% quicker than the previous year.

On the flip side, houses in St Andrews Beach on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsular recorded the largest increase in days on market, with selling times blowing out by 175% to 22 days.

Use the interactive map below to see how fast properties are selling in your suburb

PropTrack director of economic research Cameron Kusher said relative to pre-pandemic, the number of days on market is still low.

“It’s just that they are shifting higher from extremely low levels that were recorded 12 months ago,” Mr Kusher said.

By comparison, the median number of days on market for houses across the combined capital cities was 37 days over the year to April, down from 51 days a year earlier.

But as supply and demand factors even out, Mr Kusher said it’s reasonable to expect that from here, properties will start to take longer to sell.

“Throughout the pandemic properties have generally been selling quickly due to the low volume of stock and the heightened demand for properties,” Mr Kusher said.

“More recently as stock levels have increased we have started to see certain properties in certain areas taking longer to sell due to the better balance between demand and supply.”

Selling times in St Andrews Beach have risen, but still remain low. Picture: realestate.com.au

Currently, Mr Kusher said the market still favours sellers compared to buyers, although concerns over rising interest rates could see that reverse.

“We are swinging back towards a more balanced market and depending on how high and how quickly interest rates rise we could see the market move in favour of buyers.”

Where selling times have fallen the most

As lockdowns and flexible working arrangements drove buyers out of the major capital cities it created intense competition for properties in regional areas.

As a result, many towns that were previously considered less viable for workers saw days on market fall to historic lows.

While coastal locations have proven popular during the pandemic, Mr Kusher noted many tree change suburbs are now seeing large declines in selling times.

“I think it highlights that although the coastal shift may have slowed somewhat, the lifestyle shift is still strong,” he said. “It’s just more of a tree-change and outer-capital city trend which is holding.”

For houses, seven of the top ten suburbs were located in the sunshine state, which Mr Kusher said again signifies the lifestyle factors many people have sought out during the pandemic.

“Queensland is obviously dominant on the list and the locations in which appear are either regional lifestyle markets or suburb in the west of Brisbane which also have lifestyle factors such as large lot sizes,” Mr Kusher said.

Houses in Jones Hill in Queensland’s Gympie region recorded an 84% fall in days on market to a median 11 days, which local real estate agent Pete Angle from ONE Agency Gympie said came down to supply and demand, as well as the region’s relative affordability.

“Jones Hill has been one of our growth suburbs in the last few years,” Mr Angle said.

Strong demand has driven selling times down in Queensland’s Gympie region. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold

“We’ve got an estate where we’re not expecting land titles until Christmas 2023, so that’s how far in advance we are now selling land here, and that’s the Gympie greater region, Jones Hill being a neighbouring suburb.

“In our whole postcode we’ve seen a massive decline in the number of [existing properties] available for sale. So stock is incredibly tight,” he said.

Kingsthorpe in Toowoomba, Kuranda near Cairns and Booral on Queensland’s Fraser Coast all saw selling times plummet by around 80%.

Mr Kusher said Queensland remains one of the nation’s hottest housing markets.

“So it’s no surprise properties are selling very quickly,” he said.

Days on market have plunged in Perth’s Shenton Park. Picture: realestate.com.au

Outside of Queensland, properties in Perth’s Shenton Park were snapped up at lightning speed over the year to April, selling in a median 8 days, 81% faster than a year earlier.

The semi-rural suburb of St Leonards east of Launceston also made the top ten list with selling times falling 78% to 10 days

And houses in Bowenfels near Lithgow in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales recorded a 78% fall in days on market to a median 27 days.

Queensland again dominated the list for units, with beachside suburbs in Cairns, the Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay recording large falls in days on market.

Tree change suburbs in regional NSW also recorded falls in days on market, with units in Muswellbrook in the Upper Hunter region – highly regarded for its food and wine scene – selling in a median 35 days, down 82% on year.

Further south, selling times fell 75% to a median 16 days in East Maitland, while Bathurst (-76%) and Bowral (-74%) – also known for their quaint country town atmosphere – saw big falls in days on market to 26 and 32 days respectively.

Units in South Australia’s Port Lincoln were on market for a median 83 days, down 76% compared to a year earlier.

Across the combined capital cities, units were on market for a median 44 days, down from 55 days a year earlier.

Where properties are taking longer to sell

Last year, buyers had to move quickly as strict lockdowns caused many to hold off from listing their home for sale.

But Mr Kusher said several factors are now seeing that trend reverse, as more listings, slowing house price growth and rising interest rates push out selling times.

Mr Kusher said affordability is also a factor, particularly in the nation’s most expensive city.

For houses, four of the top ten suburbs to record an increase in days on market were located in Sydney’s south west and western suburbs.

“A lot of these suburbs were previously viewed as quite affordable and prices are now pushing or in excess of $1 million, which has probably pushed them out of the realms of possibility for their typical buyer’s,” he said.

Days on market have risen across Sydney’s south west. Picture: realestate.com.au

Selling times in Dodges Ferry, east of Hobart, increased by 156% to 23 days – although Mr Kusher noted conditions in the region remain strong.

“Hobart properties are very much in demand while at the same time the supply of properties coming to the market is very low,” he said.

“As a result, people are hanging out for new listings to come to the market and move to secure a contract on these properties very quickly.”

In regional Queensland, days on market surged in Bundaberg West (+139%) and Tallebudgera Valley (+136%) on the outskirts of the Gold Coast.

Heidelberg in Melbourne’s northeast rounded out the top ten, with selling times more than doubling to a median 51 days.

For units, Mr Kusher noted the suburbs with the biggest time blowouts typically had older style apartment blocks.

“Most of the areas where unit days on site has recorded the largest increases are not areas where you’ve seen a lot of modern unit development,” he said.

“They tend to be more focused on the middle and outer ring of cities and are likely to be older unit stock.”

Units in Brooklyn in Melbourne’s west saw a more than fourfold increase in days on market over the year to a median 79 days.

Greenacre and Punchbowl – neighbouring suburbs in Sydney’s southwest – rounded out the top three with selling times increasing by 138% and 137% respectively.

Other capital city suburbs to make the list were Canning Vale in Perth, where days on market increased by 110% to 156 days. Selling times also doubled in Hobart’s Kingston to 22 days, and Brisbane’s Aspley (68 days).

Suburbs with older-style apartments have seen an increase in selling times. Picture: realestate.com.au

While many properties are taking longer to sell, Mr Kusher said houses and units across most capital cities are selling quicker than they were a year ago.

“That talks to the ongoing strong demand and low stock volumes,” he said.

“Over recent months we have seen a bit of a better balance between supply and demand so I would expect going forward we will start to see a moderate increase in days on market.”