The number of homes for sale across Australia is on the rise, giving buyers a better position to get in the market.

Listing numbers – that is, the number of homes advertised for sale – have risen in major capital cities, including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, according to latest data from CoreLogic.

In Sydney, the number of listings is up 6.7 per cent from 12 months ago, Melbourne listing numbers are up 1.1 per cent, and Brisbane has seen a 2.9 per cent rise.

“Nationally you could say we are shifting to a buyer’s market and the slight uplifting in [housing] stock is representative of that. But it’s still very diverse depending on which market you are in,” CoreLogic research head Eliza Owen said.

Source: CoreLogic

Buyer advantage

“Melbourne is a firm buyer’s market and Hobart is also still a buyer’s market – but we are starting to see stock levels adjust there.”

The country’s most expensive housing market and strong performer, Sydney, is also undergoing change.

“For Sydney, which is more of an emerging buyer’s market, we’re really starting to see a loosening up,” Owen said.

She said the higher number of homes for sale at the start of 2025 came after more properties hit the market in both the spring of 2024 and the first days of this year.

“It is a reflection of a pretty strong spring selling season in 2024, when more people have tried to market their property for sale,” she said.

Source: CoreLogic

However, some “properties have taken longer to sell, so those trying to sell are losing a bit of their market advantage and that’s contributed to the higher stock levels at this start of the year”.

“New listings at the start of this year have also come in pretty strong as well,” Owen said.

“It’s a little bit of hangover stock, as well as a steady volume of people putting their properties on the market through the start of the year.”

She said in some markets that have outperformed in recent times, such as Perth, Adeliade and Brisbane, people may be taking advantage of the high prices to cash out.

“These cities have had massive windfall gains. So, for people who are looking to upsize or downsize it’s a pretty good time to be doing that,” she said.

However, some sellers today have also been forced into the position because interest rates have stayed higher for longer than some expected.

“Although the numbers are very low, some people might also be making a tough call around whether they can hold onto their properties given interest rates have been high for a very long time and the expectation for a cut in interest rates has blown out to 2025,” Owen said.

Source: CoreLogic

Buying in

While the shift in markets such as Sydney might be welcome news for some, buyer’s agent Michelle May said getting a better deal today depended on the type of home you were interested in and in what part of the city.

“There is no such thing as one Sydney market,” May said.

She said that for higher-density apartments, “the tide had well and truly turned”.

“What I’ve been seeing is more investor property coming onto the market; the newer apartments are selling for less than what they paid for a number of years ago,” she said.

More affordable properties were also more accessible.

“When we’re looking at that pool for first-home buyers, you can certainly say that those buyers have got a little bit more power than they previously had,” May said.

She said well-located, freestanding homes, however, were still hotly contested.

“If you want to be within 10 kilometres of the CBD and in a good school catchment area or have the Metro at your doorstep, there is always going to be a shortage of those great properties and so you’re still going to have competition,” May said.