More homes up for grabs in Brisbane as listings rise

MORE people are choosing to put their homes on the market and take profits in Brisbane than they were a year ago, new data shows.

Only Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra recorded a rise in property listings over the past 12 months, according to the latest figures from SQM Research.

National residential listings dropped 4.8 per cent to 303,901 in January, as homeowners took a break and enjoyed the summer holidays.

Brisbane stock levels are 1.3 per cent higher than they were a year ago, though listings fell 3.9 per cent in the traditionally quiet month of January.

Sydney recorded the strongest annual rise in property listings, with 20 per cent more properties available for sale than this time a year ago.

SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher said the overall fall in listings nationally was not surprising for January.

“Looking forward, with interest rates still at low levels and a possible expansion in lending by the banks, we expect a year of modest prices gains in Sydney and most other capital cities,” Mr Christopher said.

SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher.

“The auction clearance rate results and the asking prices over the remainder of February will give us some good insight in terms of how the market has opened.

“While we did record a strong lift in asking prices in January, it has been based on a lower count of listings, so I will not read too much into the rise at this stage.”

Asking prices for houses in Brisbane rose slightly over the past year. Picture: Patria Jannides.

Capital city asking prices rose 2.2 per cent for houses and 3 per cent for units during the month.

In Brisbane, the average asking price for a house is 1.4 per cent higher than it was a year ago at $613,200, while the asking price for a unit has dropped half a per cent to $380,800.

Source: realestate.com