Homebuyers challenged by ‘severely undersupplied’ housing markets

By Jon Bragg

March 23 2022
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A new report has identified the 20 suburbs hit hardest by housing undersupply.

Aussies looking to enter the property market in the nation’s most undersupplied housing markets are now facing significantly higher prices and increased competition.

Inventory levels are currently under one month in each of the top 20 undersupplied housing markets identified in a new report from HOOD.ai, with levels declining in 13 of the 20 markets during the past year.

Stock turnover levels, or the estimated share of houses in a suburb that sold during the past year, were under 4.9 per cent in 14 of the 20 markets, below the median for suburbs within 200km of a capital city.

The most undersupplied suburb in the country was found to be North Sydney with a median price of $2.4 million and stock turnover of 1.1 per cent.

“Part of the reason Australia has been experiencing a property boom is because stock levels have been low, which has forced buyers to compete harder and bid up prices,” said HOOD.ai founder and CEO Tommy Fraser.

“That story has really played out in these 20 suburbs, where inventory levels have been incredibly low over the past year. As a result, the median house price of most of these suburbs has experienced a double-digit percentage increase over the past year.”

Ten of the 20 most undersupplied housing markets were in NSW, including Dapto in second position with a median price of $737,000 and stock turnover of 4.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, four of the top 20 suburbs were in the ACT, three were in South Australia and a further three were in Victoria.

“Buyers desperately need new stock to come onto the market in all these suburbs, because right now, they’re in a terrible bind,” Mr Fraser said.

“When a house comes onto the market, do they offer a fair price and risk missing out? Or do they do whatever it takes to win the property but overpay?”

The suburb of Belmont in Victoria had a median price of $735,000 and stock turnover of 5.0 per cent, ranking as the third most undersupplied housing market in Australia.

Conder was the most undersupplied market in the ACT and the fifth most undersupplied nationally with a median price of $880,000 and stock turnover of 5.4 per cent.

In South Australia, the housing market of Largs Bay recorded a median price of $696,000 and stock turnover of 3.4 per cent, the most undersupplied suburb in the state and 18th nationally.

“It would be great to return to a balanced market, where owners enjoy reasonable capital growth and buyers have a reasonable chance of finding a property in their chosen suburb,” concluded Mr Fraser.

“For that to happen, these 20 suburbs need to see a significant increase in new listings.”

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