Metropolitan Areas Outpace Regions as Total Property Market Spending Reaches $664 billion in FY24 – PEXA research
By PEXA - 18 July 2024
Melbourne, Australia: The latest PEXA Property Insights report reveals a significant reversal in pandemic-driven residential property transaction trends across Australia’s mainland states, with sales activity in metropolitan areas outperforming their regional counterparts in FY24.
Australia’s mainland states saw a total of 663,158 residential property settlements in FY24, a 5.5% increase from FY23. In value terms, residential property market spending surged to $585.6 billion, up 12.6% year-on-year. Meanwhile, the commercial property sector encountered a 3.2% decline in settlement numbers in FY24, reflecting a range of market complexities and subdued investor sentiment.
Queensland had the busiest residential property market in FY24 with 180,462 residential property transactions, closely followed by NSW (177,656) and VIC (172,902). The eastern states also accounted for the largest value of sales, with NSW recording $215.5 billion, VIC $142.0 billion, and QLD $137.6 billion.
PEXA Group’s Chief Economist, Julie Toth, said the report shows an increase in settlement volumes in metropolitan areas relative to the regions, driven by ‘hotspots’ of sales activity in the expanding outer suburbs, as buyers seek more affordable properties within commuting distance of their employment, education and community needs.
“Our biggest Metropolitan areas – Greater Sydney and Greater Melbourne – saw substantial growth in property transactions in FY24, with increases of 16.1% and 8.6% respectively. At the same time, regional markets in the same states experienced more modest gains or even declines in sales numbers, indicating a shift in buyer preferences back towards urban living. Sales in regional NSW grew by a very modest 1.1% increase while regional VIC declined by 5.9%.
“Areas like Tarneit really stand out with a high number of settlements, reflecting their popularity among homebuyers. Tarneit had the highest settlement number of any suburb nationally in FY24, at 5,906 sales. Other high-ranking city suburbs, such as Marsden Park, Craigieburn, and Ripley, continue to attract significant interest due to their large-scale greenfield housing developments.
“Our newer urban areas are driving market growth at present, but the pace of that growth is constrained by logistical and financial realities. New dwelling approvals, high interest rates, elevated construction costs and prolonged construction timelines, are all limiting the pace of new supply, even as demand intensifies. This is placing upward pressure on prices and rents for existing homes. Australia will continue to face housing availability and affordability challenges, until we can enable a better balance between demand and supply,” said Ms Toth.
PEXA’s Property Insights Report can be found, here.
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About PEXA Group’s Property Insights Report
This report provides a comprehensive view of property settlement trends in Australia. In this report ‘national’ is defined as the 5 mainland states: NSW, VIC, QLD, WA & SA. Our analysis excludes TAS, ACT & NT which account for less than 5% of the total property settlements in Australia. Settlement data include all digital and paper-based settlements for residential and commercial property unless otherwise stated. Non-monetary property settlements such as family transfers or gifts have been excluded.
About PEXA Group
PEXA Group is a world-leading ASX-listed digital property exchange platform and property insights solutions business. Since 2013, PEXA has facilitated more than 16 million property settlements through the PEXA Exchange in Australia, with 90% market reach, and in 2022 PEXA launched in the UK. The PEXA Group of companies, including: .id (Informed Decisions), Value Australia and Land Insight, also delivers a new generation of data solutions that empower businesses and governments to make more informed property and place-related decisions
For more information, please contact:
Kate Prigg – Corporate Affairs Manager, PEXA
E: kate.prigg@pexa.com.au
M: 0497 595 580