Daily Buzz: Saturday, 16 March

PropertyBuzz, your daily dose of property news.

New listings hit a 12-year high, a warning issued over a common household hazard, and auction activity ramps up this fall.

Welcome to Property Buzz. I’m Juliet Helmke, today is Saturday, the 16th of March.

– February is off to a strong start with new homes coming to market. PropTrack reported a 16  per cent uptick in new property sales listings across Australia compared to the previous year, driven by a 32 per cent increase in the capitals. This is a 12-year high for new listings in February, though some of that can be attributed to the extra leap year day.

– Regional areas saw nearly an 8 per cent increase in new listings year on year, maintaining a steady pace in line with typical February trends over the past decade.

– Total property listings in February were up 12 per cent across the nation compared to January, with Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, and Hobart surpassing decade averages.

– The surge in property listings is attributed to strong demand, low unemployment, population growth, tight rental market conditions, and a stable outlook for interest rates.

– The Real Estate Institute of Australia has issued a call to the government to standardise the guidelines around lithium ion batteries, following an increase in life-threatening fires that have caused fatalities and property loss.

By 2026, it’s projected that the average household will possess around 33 items powered by lithium-ion batteries, which can overheat or explode if they are used, charged or disposed of incorrectly.

The body said that clear guidance from the government is essential not only for individual homeowners to prevent costly damages and tragic loss of life but also for real estate agents, particularly property managers and strata managers, to provide essential guidance to tenants. 

– The ACCC has issued 23 recalls for lithium-ion battery products in the past five years, affecting around 89,000 items, and has recommended regulatory measures, though governing bodies have been slow to act.

And CoreLogic revealed that with 2,797 homes scheduled for auction across Australia’s eight capital cities this week, it’s officially the second busiest auction week of the year to date and 60 per cent higher than the week prior.

Melbourne took the top spot with 1,432 homes set for auction, a whopping 189 per cent increase over last week’s middling Labour Day long weekend results. Notably, this also marks a 37 per cent increase in the number of auctions compared to this time the previous year.

Sydney carved out the second spot with 914 auctions scheduled this week, a much more marginal 1.8 per cent increase over last week’s total.

Australia’s smaller capital cities tell a similar story with all locations reporting an increase in homes set to go under the hammer. Brisbane and Adelaide will each see 175 and 150 auctions hit the block respectively.

Notably, Canberra has doubled its numbers twofold over the past week, with 104 homes slated for auction.

That’s all for Property Buzz for this week. See you again on Monday, March 18, for your daily dose of Property Buzz

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