But now, at a time when expectations are growing of a slowdown in the market – HSBC last week predicted national property price growth to halve over the next 18 months – owners may be trying to pre-empt that slowdown.

Appetite wanes

Recent figures show investor appetite is waning. Loans to property investors grew at their slowest rate in nine months in May as banks tightened lending criteria, official figures showed on Tuesday.

"There's been a real rush into the marketplace this year for both Melbourne and Sydney," Domain chief economist Andrew Wilson said. "The market did rebound with lower interest rates last year and the end of last year was quite strong for markets. Perhaps there's also a sense of the market peaking."

Domain is owned by Fairfax Media, publisher of The Australian Financial Review.

One reason for higher volumes is that lower interest rates are not stoking buyer demand as they did during the past two years. In February and May 2015, the Reserve Bank cut rates twice to 2 per cent and appetite was further whetted last year with rate cuts in May and August that brought the cash rate to the current 1.5 per cent.

In addition, seasonal figures – lower-priced properties tend to come on the market in winter – as well as recent stamp duty reductions and exemptions for first-time buyers in NSW and Victoria that kicked in this month could be encouraging more owners of cheaper homes to sell.


"You'd expect that more lower-priced stock targeted at first home buyers would be entering the market now," said CoreLogic researcher Cameron Kusher.

Figures from CoreLogic also show more owners trying to sell. New sales listings – on a rolling 28-day basis – are up 16.4 per cent in Sydney and 6.8 per cent in Melbourne on last year, although they remain well down on 2015.

"The elevated new listings, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, potentially indicate some urgency to get to market with conditions close to or at a peak sellers are looking to get to the market quickly before spring when housing market conditions may potentially be softer," Mr Kusher said.

"Total stock being elevated, particularly in Sydney also could be causing weaker housing market conditions due to more buyer choice."

Total listings – of all housing stock on the market – are little changed from last year and up 4.3 per cent on 2015, however.

"The relatively higher stock levels suggest to me housing conditions are not as robust as they were 12 months ago," Mr Kusher said. "Furthermore, I think it indicates that sellers are trying to beat out a potential slowdown and also beat out further changes to lending policies which may hamper demand, particularly from investors."