New home listings across the country rose 10.5% month-on-month in March following a quieter start to 2023.  

New PropTrack research found that new listings on realestate.com.au were up 14.6% in Adelaide and 13.3% in Perth, while new homes for sale were 10.3% higher in Sydney.  

March is typically the busiest month of the autumn selling season, however this autumn selling season has been slower than in 2022 when the property markets were very busy.  

There were 14.9% fewer new listings this March compared to last year. 

PropTrack Economist Angus Moore said property markets had had a quieter start to the year than was the case in 2022 and autumn was no exception.  

“While new listings were up 10.5% in March compared to February, the peak of the autumn selling season did not match the pace of autumn last year,” Moore said.  

“New listings were down 15.9% year-on-year. That slowdown comes after an extremely busy period in early 2022.  

Source: Proptrack

“With the peak of the autumn selling season now behind us, we expect market activity will ease over the next few months, as it usually does after Easter and into the quieter winter period.  

“While selling conditions are softer than a year ago, and market activity has slowed, conditions have improved from late 2022 and the fundamental long-term drivers of demand for housing remain solid.  

“We’ve seen home prices increase slightly in recent months – a change from the consistent price falls seen throughout much of 2022. Auction clearance rates have firmed up a bit through the first quarter of 2023 compared to last year. The unemployment rate has remained close to multi-decade lows for the majority of 2022 and into early 2023. Wages growth, while running slower than inflation, has started to pick up. International migration has also resumed, which will further add to housing demand.” 

The total number of properties listed for sale nationally increased 5.8% month-on-month. This pushed the total number of listings up 8% compared to the same time last year.