Real estate sales activity across most of the country was strong in May with new listings much higher than a year ago according to the PropTrack Listing Report May 2024.

The ACT (+42.5%), Melbourne (+36.1%) and Sydney (+29.3%) saw the largest year-on-year increases in new listings in May.

Compared to May 2023, Hobart was the only capital city that had fewer new listings coming to market.

This higher rate of new listings resulted in more total listings than a year ago for all capital city markets except Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth where demand remained extremely strong. Perth in particular had 23.4% fewer properties for sale than in May last year.

By contrast, total listings in the ACT were 32.4% above the level seen a year ago, while Melbourne (+24.7%) and Sydney (+17.7%) also recorded significant increases. Despite the increase in stock these markets have continued to see price growth over the past year.

Regional markets saw a solid increase in new listings in May, up 10.4% year-on-year, with only regional Northern Territory (-16.3%) and regional Western Australia (-0.3%) recording falls.

Regional Victoria and regional New South Wales saw the largest year-on-year increases in new listings in May among regional areas, up 16.3% and 15.9% respectively.