A SURGE in new property listings traditionally occurs during the first half of March, the start of the autumn selling season.
But in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie - and across the nation - that is not the story this year.
In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, there were 1375 new listings added to the market in the the region from the beginning of the year to this week, according to CoreLogic.
In comparison, this figure was 1501 for the first 11 weeks of 2022, and the five-year average is 1555.
Meanwhile, new listings are down 27.3 per cent compared to the same time last year, and 21.3 per cent below the previous five-year average nationally.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said there was a good chance the flow of new listings had moved through a seasonal peak.
"Historically, weeks nine to eleven mark the seasonal high point in the flow of new listings before the trend eases leading into Easter and the cooler months," Mr Lawless said.
"However, this year sellers have erred on the side of caution before listing and the trend is moving lower again with the flow of new listings consistently below average since spring last year."
Mr Lawless said the lower-than-average flow of fresh stock was likely to be a key factor supporting house prices.
For the past month, CoreLogic's Daily Home Value Index has shown in some cities that a lack of new stock has stemmed the decline in values.
In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, house values recorded a rise of 0.1 per cent last month.
For some vendors, selling in a cooling market had worked to their advantage.
Nicholas and Kelly Davies recently sold their three-bedroom property at Gateshead to purchase a bigger home.
"Although we knew the property market was as not as strong as this time last year our agent advised us that the timing was perfect to upsize to a larger home from what was our first home in Gateshead," Mr Davies said.
"We did have the luxury of staying with family when the house was on the market and while that was happening, we had been surveying the market and once the sale was made on our home we pounced on a property we had been watching."
Mr Davies said selling in this market benefitted them as buyers looking to upsize.
"With our property selling for $660,000 we may have received around $15,000 to $25,000 less than last year but we secured a five-bedroom property in Croudace Bay for a $1,040,000 which is far less than we would have had to pay in what was a crazy market last year," he said.
Colliers Newcastle residential selling agent Anthony Merlo said the current market offered sellers more time to wait and buy their next property, compared to a year ago during the property boom.
"One good thing for people in this market is they don't have to rush," Mr Merlo said.
"My advice to clients is you have to get on the market and sell, cash up, delay settlements and then buy.
"You couldn't do that before because the market was moving so quickly.
"Even though the market is a bit flat it gives people a bit more time to settle and then go out and buy."
- For more property, see today's Real Estate View lift-out.
