April property snapshot: everything you need to know

Article by PropertyMe 11 April 2023

Here’s what you need to know about the rental market right now if you’re looking to invest in the Australian property market.

Key takeaways for property investors this month:

• The vacancy rate remains stagnant at record lows, sitting at 1% Australia-wide
• SQM Research suggests Melbourne vendors still lack some confidence
• However, Sydney property sellers lifted their asking prices signalling there may be more buyers in the market
• The number of stale listings continues to rise, increasing nationally by 4.6% in March 2023 and by 39% over the course of the year

What you need to know about the property market

Vacancy rates

The vacancy rate has remained unchanged, sitting at 1%.

The continuous arrival of long-term or permanent overseas residents, paired with a limited supply of new residential properties, is contributing to the ongoing tight rental conditions.

Major cities

The rental vacancy rates in Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide remained stable at 1.3%, 0.8%, and 0.5%, respectively. Perth had the tightest rental vacancy rate at only 0.4%, which also remained constant throughout the month.

CBDs

Contrastingly, the rental vacancy rates in the CBDs of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane decreased significantly in February to 2.6%, 2.2%, and 1.2%, respectively, potentially due to the sudden influx of international students.

Regional areas

On the other hand, regional rental vacancy rates increased in February after experiencing a decline in January. The Blue Mountains in Sydney (1.9%), the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne (1.4%), and the Gold Coast in Queensland (1.0%) all saw significant increases in rental vacancy rates over the month.

Asking rents

The median weekly asking rent for a dwelling across the country stands at $567 as of April 4th. Sydney has the highest weekly rent for a house, sitting at $961 followed by Canberra at $768.

Asking prices inch upward

Over March, asking prices across the nation dropped by 1.2%. However, in the cities, asking prices increased by 1.1%, primarily due to a surge in Sydney’s asking prices, which rose by 1.8%.

How much does the average property cost in Australia?

The average asking price for a house in Australian capital cities was $1.23 million at the end of March, according to SQM Research. The average asking price for a unit in capital cities was $632,047.

These figures provide a snapshot of the current property market in Australia, but prices can vary widely depending on factors like location, property type, and demand.

Louis Christopher, Managing Director of SQM Research highlighted “SQM has recorded ongoing weakness in the regions and it is apparent Melbourne vendors still lack some confidence. However, Sydney property sellers actually lifted their asking prices last month. And one only does that when there are more buyers in the market.”

Stale listings continue to rise

The number of property listings that have been available for more than 180 days increased by 4.6% in March 2023 and by 39% over the course of the year.

Louis Christopher, Managing Director of SQM Research highlighted “March recorded a combination of rising newer listings as well as a build up of older stock not selling. There are now more property listings in the market than what we recorded this time last year. However total listings remain well below long-term averages. On previous downturns, total listings for any given month would typically rise above 300,000 properties for sale. We are simply not seeing those numbers in this cycle and it is one of the key reasons why the housing market has not corrected more than feared.”

About the data:

The findings in this report are based on the latest insights from SQM Research as of 2 March 2023. SQM Research is an independent investment research institute that specialises in providing accurate property market data. It is operated by one of the country’s leading property analysts, Louis Christopher.  

Disclaimer:

Buyers and investors should consider conducting their own research and seeking professional advice before making any property purchases.