Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is just one of a rapidly growing number of Australians who are selling their homes, with new data revealing a spike in listings amid high property prices.

Figures published on Thursday by analysis firm PropTrack revealed listings on realestate.com.au have risen 32 per cent in the past year as a long pause in interest rates drives confidence.

Albanese is one such property investor, with news breaking this week that the PM is kicking out his tenant to sell one of his properties following his engagement earlier this year.

Sellers ‘biding their time’ 

PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty said the increase in listings comes after sellers were “biding their time” in 2023 to see how rates and prices played out.

“Interest rates are a key factor here,” Flaherty said.

“It’s still looking pretty unlikely that we’ll see interest rates increase further this year [and] the fact that property prices are continuing to rise – it’s another thing that supports confidence in market conditions.”

Property prices have risen sharply over the past year despite higher interest rates as an ongoing imbalance between supply and demand continues to drive higher values for home owners.

My Housing Market chief economist Dr Andrew Wilson says more homes have gone under the hammer this year than ever before, with sellers chasing yields that higher property prices have brought.

“The risks are lower, prices have risen, so they can now undertake those sales,” he said.

The biggest expansion in listings over the past year has come on the eastern coast, with big cities Melbourne and Sydney leading the charge and Canberra also playing a key role as well.

New listings have risen 44.9 per cent year on year in Sydney, by 52.7 per cent across Melbourne and about 49.1 per cent in Canberra, according to the PropTrack figures.

Perth, which has been one of the hottest markets nationwide for price growth lately, has had listings rise 23.5 per cent year on year, while another hot market Brisbane is up 34.4 per cent.

Flaherty said buyers are flocking to Perth to take advantage of relatively lower prices than east coast markets and also strong economic fundamentals across Western Australia.

“There’s a lot of people seeing the median price of a house with land in Greater Perth is significantly below what we see in east coast cities,” Flaherty said.

Albanese tests the market

The PM is set to make a handsome capital gain on his Sydney investment property, which was bought for a shade over $1 million in 2015.

Property prices have risen markedly since then, meaning the property could fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars more.

But the PM’s soon-to-be former tenant isn’t all too happy about the sale, with criticism on Thursday that Albanese is acting hypocritically after saying no one should lose their home during the rental crisis.

Albanese defended the decision to give his tenant a notice to vacate in order to sell the home, saying in an interview on ABC Radio that he’s entitled to sell the house.

“I wish to move on in my personal life in a different direction. The property was bought when my personal circumstances were different,” Albanese said on Thursday morning.