Supply is likely to be up over last year in all major Australian residential property markets this spring selling season, according to real estate agents and analysts.
But there still won't be enough homes on the market to satisfy demand in the outperforming cities of Perth and Adelaide.
The reverse is true for Melbourne and Hobart, where sales have slowed right down and extra stock will put further downward pressure on pricing.
Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra are likely to be somewhere in between with a better balance between supply and demand.
Eliza Owen, Head of Residential Research at CoreLogic, says in Melbourne there were 5400 more new listings in the past three months than sales.
"Adelaide and Perth were on the other end of the spectrum, where sales vastly outpaced the number of new listings added," Owen says
"This data suggests Perth and Adelaide sellers are heading into the spring selling season in a powerful position, with total stock on the market at very depleted levels."
When is the optimal sell time
She advises prospective vendors to assess the state of their local market to gauge whether it's the right time to sell.
"A rise in new listings is anticipated, but a lift in demand may not occur at the same time."
More on the market
National real estate agency Ray White says spring property sales signups across its national network are trending higher than last year and also 2019, pre-COVID.
Nerida Conisbee, Chief Economist at Ray White, says the biggest listings jump is in Victoria and Tasmania.
"Prices are pretty flat, but a lot of new taxes are encouraging people to sell," she says.
Chris Keating, Head of Network at LJ Hooker, says listings across its agencies are increasing across all markets.
"What I'm hearing from our agents is that they're thinking it's going to be a good spring selling season, probably better than last year," says Keating.
"At the moment I think everyone across the board could do with a lot more property to sell.
"The buyers are certainly out there looking for it."
Keating believes price growth in markets that have had low supply will moderate.
Where prices are
"The price growth is probably going to plateau out soon. Generally, when the stock is low, prices tend to trend up.
"But I think as we see more listings come to market that's then the process will start to level out."
That's already happening in Brisbane where Ray White's chief auctioneer Gavin Croft says an increase in supply is giving buyers more choice - and power.
"A real obvious change is just starting to emerge," says Croft.
"Sellers need to be cognisant of these changes. Sellers need to adjust their expectations and good sales will happen."
