New data reveals home sellers across the country are lowering their price expectations in droves.
Here’s an exciting stat for property bargain hunters: the percentage of sellers dropping their asking price during COVID-19 has more than doubled in our capital cities across the country, new Domain data shows.
So which two cities have seen the biggest increase in sellers offering discounts?
The head-and-shoulders leader is Sydney, followed by Melbourne, with Adelaide only just nudging out Brisbane and Perth in a photo finish for third.
However all cities are offering median discounts between $22,000 and $50,000
A closer look at the stats
Prices dropped on one-in-seven (14.7%) Sydney properties for sale last month, almost a threefold increase from the 5.3% of sellers who offered discounts a year earlier in July 2019.
In Melbourne, the percentage of sellers dropping their asking price during the COVID-19 pandemic increased nearly four-fold from 3.1% in July 2019 to 11.5% in July 2020.
Adelaide recorded the next highest discount figure at 10.1%, up from 3.1% last year, while in Perth the percentage of discounters almost doubled to 10% from 5.3%.
Brisbane followed closely with an increase to 9.7% from 4.4%, Canberra increased to 8.6% from 6.3% and Hobart to 5.4% from 2.8%. Darwin was the only capital to record a slight drop – with 5% of sellers offering a discount this year, compared to 5.5% a year earlier.
So what does that mean for prices?
With most capital cities offering a median discount around 4-5%, the savings you could receive on a median-priced property in each city are: $49,150 in Sydney, $35,254 in Melbourne, $26,810 in Brisbane, $26,210 in Canberra, $24,553 in Perth, $24,351 in Hobart, $23,745 in Darwin, and $22,121 in Adelaide.
But remember, that’s just the median. Better (and less) discounts are sure to be found.
Here’s a quick table for you to compare the numbers yourself
The percentage of listings with discounts from July 2019 to July 2020:
Sydney: Increased from 5.1% to 14.7%
Melbourne: Increased from 3.1% to 11.5%
Adelaide: Increased from 3.1% to 10.1%
Perth: Increased from 5.3% to 10%
Brisbane: Increased from 4.4% to 9.7%
Canberra: Increased from 6.3% to 8.6%
Hobart: Increased from 2.8% to 5.4%
Darwin: Dropped from 5.5% to 5%
A quick note on the value of the discounts
It’s important to note the value of the discounts isn’t increasing – just the percentage of properties offering discounts.
Domain senior research analyst Dr Nicola Powell explains: “We’re seeing a broader slowdown in properties, rather than prices tanking, which is good news.
“And I think we’ll continue to see price weakness but the falls to date have been minimal and they’ll stay that way, rather than some of those outrageous predictions we saw at the start of COVID-19 of 30% falls.”
Think you might have found a bargain?
Have you recently stumbled across a discounted property that’s too hard to ignore? We can provide RP data reports that offer great value for comparative values and of course, can help with your finance needs