REA Group’s September PropTrack Listing Report shows new listings hit their highest volume for the month of September since 2015.

Nationally listings rose by 2.8% in September according to Director of economic research, Cameron Kusher. He says a few factors are in play. Those anticipating an interest rate cut this year realised it was now unlikely until 2025 and felt they couldn’t hold on to sell any longer and owners have a higher level of equity in their property and want to take advantage of that.

Kusher says with the rental market easing slightly sellers are more confident of finding somewhere to rent between selling and buying a new home. “A lot of people, when they sell their property, they don’t buy at the exact same time,” he says. “So, they need to rent for a period of time. When the rental market has been so tight, that has probably discouraged some people from putting their properties on the market.”

The analysis shows Canberra has the largest year-on-year increase in new listings, up by 19.8%, followed by Sydney, up by 17.9% and Perth, 17.7%. Total listings are 7.7% higher over the year across combined capital cities but are lower in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and Darwin.