Consumer trust isn’t something to be taken for granted, but reports from the UK, US and here at home are all pointing towards an uplift in trust levels around financial advice, which can only be a welcome development.
There are significant tailwinds behind the financial advice industry at the moment, but some major obstacles are still preventing advice practices from taking advantage of surging demand according to a new study from CFS.
Property listings surge as prices hit record highs: SQM Research
The number of national residential property listings have fought its way back above par for the year, with a 20,915 surge in listings for the month of September bringing the yearly change to 1.4 per cent in the positive, according to SQM Research.
On the back of a sudden increase in new listings, Sydney (12.2 per cent), Melbourne (10.5), Adelaide (11.0) and Canberra (16.0) all experienced double digit growth. Melbourne’s 3,805 increase in total property listings for the month led the country.
Nationally, 20,915 extra listings became available in September, a 9.3 per cent increase on the previous month. No capital city experienced a drop in listings over the month.
The standout city in 2023, however, has been Hobart, with the Tasmanian capital experiencing a 30.3 per cent increase in total property listings.
According to SQM’s managing director Louis Christopher, the quantum of new listings on the market is the most astonishing factor in the figures yet largely attributable to seasonal factors.
“The spring selling season is living up to its name once more with a large jump in new listings for September. Nationally, September was the strongest new listings month since April 2022,” Christopher said.
Nevertheless, this year’s spring tide was the highest in several years. “It was also the strongest September since 2018,” he added.
The marked increase in new listings is a “sign of confidence” that vendors can expect good selling conditions in the current market environment, SQM believes. But there are caveats for buyers, with not all listings offering fair value.
“Buyers would also be noticing the increase in choice of stock. However, a note of caution as we also did record a rise in older stock which suggests there are vendors with overly lofty pricing expectations in the market. And while activity has increased in 2023, it is not a boom market by any means,” Christopher said.
Asking prices actually rose 0.9 per cent for the month on aggregate, SQM data revealed, locking in an 8.1 per cent increase since September 2022. Apartment rose in asking price by 2 per cent across the country in September alone.
“The rise in asking prices generated new record highs at the national level as well as the capital city level. New record highs were set for Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth,” SQM’s data set noted. “The highest recorded median asking price was Sydney Houses, which reached $1,873,000. The most affordable capital city asking price was Darwin units at $374,000.”
