REA Group Property Demand Index Nerida Conisbee REA Group Chief Economist OCTOBER 2016 Introduction Demand for property in Australia is now at fever pitch, with rates continuing to reach record levels, further supporting house price growth in all states except Western Australia. From what we re seeing on realestate.com.au in October, the increases in the index have been driven by more people looking to buy, despite a marginal seasonal increase in active listings on realestate.com.au over the month of October. However, we re still seeing overall listings on the site remain lower than the same time last year. Increased demand will continue to be a challenge in affordability, particularly in New South Wales and Victoria, where we are seeing the strongest levels of demand and the highest median prices. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Phil Mahoney, Media Relations Manager phil.mahoney@rea-group.com +61 477 477 233 Apartment demand also continues to be high, driven by the number of people looking to buy outpacing the number of listings, which is somewhat surprising given the level of new apartment development across Australia.
Data & Insights Demand hits highest level recorded Demand levels continued to increase in October with the index now at its highest level recorded since we started recording the index, suggesting that price rises will continue. All states experienced an increase over the past month. The states seeing the biggest increases continue to be Victoria, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania. Western Australia and the Northern Territory saw small increases over the month. All states, with the exception of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, are now seeing the highest levels of demand recorded. New South Wales and Tasmania are seeing the highest levels of demand. Continued development in Melbourne has led to the index level being lower in Victoria. Monthly Index s 31 OCTOBER 2016 City All Dwellings Houses Units AUS 235.4 27.6% 6.8% 246.4 28.5% 6.8% 193.1 23.0% WA 101.6-3.2% 1.9% 107.4-4.0% 1.9% 61.8-2.6% -1.3% ACT 226.7 46.0% 9.2% 291.9 6 7.2% 188.1 48.8% 9.1% NSW 319.2 38.4% 7.8% 326.2 40.9% 7.9% 264.6 26.0% 8.7% NT 81.3 7.2% 1.4% 86.3 8.2% 0.7% 55.3 5.5% 7.5% QLD 233.3 27.4% 7.3% 231.5 28.5% 209.8 18.7% SA 178.6 16.2% 4.8% 186.0 1 5.1% 159.4 12.3% 5.5% TAS 314.4 43.3% 7.7% 330.5 47.2% 7.3% 363.4 54.4% 10.6% VIC 279.2 35.8% 7.8% 337.2 39.5% 8.6% 184.5 26.9% 7.4%
240 All Dwellings: National 220 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 1/10/16 All Dwellings: States A shortage of properties for sale continues to be a strong driver of price growth The number of people looking to buy on realestate.com.au increased nationally by 8.2% in October, there was also a marginal seasonal increase in active listings on realestate.com.au. Overall listings on the site remain lower than the same time last year, with the relative shortage of stock continuing to be a driver of price growth. Positively, across all states, only Tasmania saw a slight drop in listings over the month of October.
250 Houses: National 230 210 190 170 150 130 110 90 70 50 Houses: States 200 Apartments: National 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 1/10/16
Apartments: States Apartment demand continues to rise, despite high levels of development Nationally demand for houses and apartments continues to increase and is now at the highest levels recorded. The only state to experience a drop in apartment demand in October was Western Australia, which continues to struggle with concerns of over development. Higher levels of apartment supply have meant that the index is lower for apartments than for houses nationally. Nevertheless, the index remains particularly high in Tasmania and New South Wales. The REA Group Property Demand Index is produced by the REA Group, owner and operator of realestate.com.au the leading source in Australia for residential property with a total average unique audience of more than 5.9 million (Nielsen Digital Ratings (Monthly), April-September 2016). The REA Group Property Demand Index provides data and insights relating to demand for residential dwellings across Australia, at a national level and per state and territory according to site visit data on realestate.com.au. It calculates the number of online visits in the past month (including at least one interaction with a property) against the average number of property listings. This metric is seasonally adjusted to negate the effect of spikes in any given month, and it is indexed to a point in time (February 2013). This report details the key findings of the REA Group Property Demand Index for. This report uses REA Group internal data that is current as at the time of publication. This report provides general information only and is not intended to constitute any advice or appraisal and should not be relied upon as doing so. If you wish to cite or refer to this report (or any findings or data contained in it) in any publication, please refer to the report as the REA Group Property Demand Index (Oct. 2016).