Melbourne homebuyers spoiled for choice as listings hit 12-year high | PropTrack

Melbourne has more homes for sale than at any time since 2012 in what is firming as one of the best springs for homebuyers in the city’s history.

New figures from PropTrack show there were unprecedented numbers of new listings brought to the market in September and October, with both months setting new benchmarks.

With Melbourne’s clearance rate hovering in the high 50 per cent range, those monthly increases have increased the total number of new listings for sale by 16 per cent compared to a year ago.

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The number of homes for sale in Melbourne right now is higher than any point since 2012.

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PropTrack economic research director Cameron Kusher said that increase meant there were more homes for sale across Melbourne today than there had been at any time since November, 2012.

Mr Kusher also noted that the year-on-year jumps for Melbourne were all the more remarkable given they had already been at an elevated level last year.

“(But) heightened levels of stock for sale affords buyers more choice and removes some purchasing urgency from the market,” Mr Kusher said.

This three-bedroom, one-bathroom Mount Waverley home goes to auctions this weekend with $1,649,000 price hopes.

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“We’re seeing a more balanced dynamic between buyers and sellers than we have in recent years, with conditions quite favourable for purchasers in cities like Sydney and Melbourne.”

Prominent buyer’s advocate Cate Bakos said the numbers were likely being inflated by high numbers of landlords exiting the market in response to rising costs caused by land tax and interest rate hikes.

As a result, Ms Bakos said the majority of increased supply would be in more affordable parts of the city — and that many of the landlords selling up were looking to offload underperforming assets, or ones that needed work in order to meet new minimum standards for the rental market.

57 Barter Cres, Forest Hill, sold on the weekend at auction for $1.08m.

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The buyer’s agent noted that holiday homes were also being sold off as interest rates and tax burdens hurt those owners, so there were also significant listings on offer in coastal and vacation hotspots.

While this was allowing buyers to be “finicky and fussy” in many cases, quality homes were still drawing significant competition.

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