As mortgage rates have fallen over recent years, certain cities, namely Sydney and Melbourne, have seen heightened demand and a rapid rate of sale for properties. We look at the 10 suburbs in each state and territory that have had the shortest median selling time over the 12 months to January 2017 for houses and units. 

Note that the figure is only calculated where there were at least 10 observations of paired listings and subsequent sales over the year.  The data is also calculated on private sales excluding properties advertised for auction (this is because the selling time for an auction is often better described as a marketing period that typically lasts for around six weeks). The figure is calculated by the difference from the date at which a property is first listed compared to its contract date.

Montagu Bay in Hobart has had the nation’s shortest median days on market for houses over the past year at 5 days. For units, South Penrith and Wyoming in Sydney has the shortest median days on the market at 7 days.

Top 10 fastest selling suburbs in each state for houses and units,
12 months to Jan'17

Houses                                                       Units

Looking at the list the most obvious trend is that the overwhelming majority of suburbs listed are within capital cities and this is generally the case across each state and territory. This highlights that housing market conditions are generally stronger in the capital cities than they are in regional areas.  Those suburbs that are not in capital cities in most instances are located in regions close to the capital city, highlighting how housing demand has rippled outwards from the capital cities as prices rise.

Although Sydney and Melbourne have grabbed the headlines over recent years for their comparatively strong rates of capital growth, in certain other areas of other capital cities there are suburbs experiencing a very rapid rate of sale. For example, Brisbane values have increased by less than 5% over the past year but each of the suburbs listed for houses have a median days on market figure of less than 20 days.

With mortgage rates and the number of properties available for sale remaining low we would anticipate that the current rapid rate of sale in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and Canberra will remain low, however there have been some early signs that stock levels are starting to rise which may lead to an easing in the perceived urgency to buy across some markets. Outside of these areas, suburbs in sought after locations with relatively low stock available for sale are also likely to see transactions occurring at a fairly rapid pace, especially if vendors ensure that they are setting realistic initial listing prices.

Article originally posted on www.corelogic.com.au.