After a slump in property listings during the pandemic, hopeful home buyers now have more options at their fingertips, new data has revealed.
Total inventory levels in Canberra were up 20 per cent on last year, CoreLogic figures showed, while new listings were also trending higher.
The most recent data, collected on July 17, showed an average 1876 total property listings across the ACT, up from 1561 last year.
Despite the rise in stock levels, listings remained 6.5 per cent below the previous five-year average, showing inventory remained relatively tight after rising from record lows.
Nonetheless, the market was moving towards more favourable conditions for Canberra buyers, CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said.
"As listings rise, buyers are moving back into the driver's seat," he said.
"Vendors will need to be realistic about their pricing expectations, ensure the property is well-marketed and be prepared to negotiate on price."
Canberra-based real estate agent Jess Smith, principal at Stone Gungahlin, said there could be up to 70 open homes during a 10am Saturday slot.
"So it is great for buyers that there's more choice and it's making it a little more difficult for sellers, just because I feel they're needing to compete against other listings," she said.
Ms Smith said mid-week inspections were drawing larger crowds than weekends.
"Even though it's winter, we've been getting three to four times the amount of traffic through our open homes during a mid-week [time slot] than we have on a Saturday," she said.
"I put that purely down to the fact that Saturday is so competitive."
With more options available to buyers, price guides have become more prominent in listing advertisements.
"All of our auctions at the moment have got price guides on them and we think that's helping. It's helping people feel more comfortable coming into the open homes. It's getting us more inquiries," Ms Smith said.
More supply leads to larger discounts, longer days
As expected during the winter months, new listings were trending lower compared to earlier in the year. In March, fresh listings were averaging higher than 800 per week and have dropped to the low-600s in July.
But compared with the same time last year, new listings were up 23.8 per cent and tracking 8.4 per cent higher than the previous five-year average.
CoreLogic data showed sales activity through the June quarter was down an estimated 13.6 per cent on last year.
With less demand and more supply, fewer homes were selling at auction, private treaty sales were taking longer and sellers were being forced to lower prices.
Canberra's auction clearance rate was 54 per cent for the week ending July 17, after averaging 85 per cent in 2021, CoreLogic figures showed.
The data also showed private treaty sales in Canberra were averaging 37 days to sell, up from 29 at the end of 2021.
Seller discounting rates have increased to 3.4 per cent from a recent low of 2 per cent last year.
Claire Corby of Capital Buyers Agency said buyers may be finding more favourable conditions at the top end of the market, however, Canberra's unit segment was still highly competitive.
"For those vendors who really have to sell through personal reasons, they're obviously a lot more open to discounting," she said.
"There's certainly more room to move [in pricing] for vendors that haven't got a dollar figure in mind or perhaps don't have a massive mortgage on the property as well.
"Anything up to $800,000 in the inner suburbs has been in really strong demand."
Ms Corby said some buyers were holding out on purchasing until spring.
"They've delayed their purchasing decision based on their stance on the market and what they think will happen and also the increased supply that they believe will come at the end of the year," she said.
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