Australian Property News

Property sales decline

Posted on Monday, March 21 2011 at 12:32 PM

The volume of residential sales has fallen 21.8 per cent in the 12 months to December 2010, according to the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA).

President David Airey says activity in the property market continues to decline.

"The number of sales fell 10,353 from 47,597 in the December quarter 2009 to 37,244 in the December quarter 2010," Airey says.

The table below shows a breakdown of the number of sales between December 2009 and December 2010.

Quarter	Canberra	Sydney	Brisbane	Darwin	Perth	Adelaide	Melbourne	Hobart	Australia
Dec 09	287	19,355	5,512	402	5,639	5,021	10,733	648	47,597
Mar 10	229	17,028	5,831	269	5,212	4,315	8,578	612	42,074
Jun 10	494	20,471	4,858	227	4,702	4,716	9,993	556	46,017
Sep 10	330	16,511	4,386	237	4,850	4,336	8,670	458	39,778
Dec 10	320	13,869	4,045	233	4,279	4,464	9,522	512	37,244

Airey says a relationship could be drawn between the decline in sales, the phasing out of the First Home Owners Grant Boost and higher interest rates.

"Without first homebuyers, market activity will continue to decrease and new home sales will continue to slow. This ultimately affects the established home sales market," Airey says.

"Reduced consumer spending is evident in the retail market and borrowing is in decline. We urge the government to engage with us and related industry bodies to assist in addressing issues and initiatives required to stimulate housing activity."