Property markets in the major cities have been unusually busy over the normally sleepy winter months as home prices continue tracking upwards.

Listings typically ease back over winter and pick up in spring, but August has been uncharacteristically busy.

Property platform realestate.com.au recorded a 20.5 per cent lift in national listings in August, buoyed by a wave of fresh stock added to Sydney and Melbourne markets.

Australia’s two biggest cities recorded their busiest end to winter in more than a decade.

Melbourne and Sydney also recorded strong annual growth.

Other capitals recorded a rise over the month but new listings were yet to outpace the increases of the year earlier.

PropTrack economist Angus Moore said improving selling conditions and rising prices were likely bolstering seller confidence.

After a downturn last year, home prices have been in recovery mode.

Prices improved for eight months in a row, to be 0.8 per cent shy of the national home price peak of March 2022, PropTrack’s data showed.

Mr Moore said property prices would probably keep growing, with interest rates either at or close to the peak after an aggressive series of hikes. 

Looking into the future, home prices would likely be supported by population growth, the tight rental market, and the strong labour market keeping household incomes healthy.

“Activity is likely to continue increasing over the spring selling season, reaching the typical peak in October and November,” he predicted.

The flow of new listings in August has improved choice for buyers marginally, with the total number of properties available to buy up 0.5 per cent from 12 months earlier.

While buyers in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart are now seeing total sale listings back around averages observed over the past decade, the same is not true of the other big cities.

Buyers in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth are still facing slim pickings, with total listings lower than typical of the past decade.

By Poppy Johnston in Canberra