Property Insights | Metropolitan areas outperform regions in FY24

This report aims to provide 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 combined make up less than 5% of total property settlements in Australia. Settlement data in this report 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. 

• There were 699,080 property settlements in total across Australia’s mainland states in FY24, an increase of 5.1% compared to FY23.
• QLD had the highest number of property transactions in FY24 (190,828), followed by NSW (186,355) and VIC (183,402).
• A total of $664.0 billion was spent on property in FY24, a 10.8% increase compared to FY23.
• The aggregate value of sales was highest in the eastern states, with $246.3 billion spent in NSW, $169.3 billion spent in VIC and $157.9 billion spent in QLD.

• 191,208 property settlements were completed in the Jun-24 Qtr, up 23.6% from the Mar-24 quarter. This was driven by growth in NSW and VIC, which were up by 33.8% and 23.8% respectively compared to the previous quarter.
• Strong growth in the Jun-24 Qtr came after to a weaker than usual Mar-24 Qtr, due to the earlier than usual Easter holidays, which fell earlier in the month of March. Buyers have likely delayed settlements to April as a result. As such, property transactions in the month of April were 26.4% higher compared to the previous year.
• Within the June quarter, the month of June 2024 – typically one of the strongest months for property transactions in the year – was weaker compared to May and down 3.1% compared to June 2023. This can be partially attributed to fewer business days in June 2024.

• The Australian economy slowed markedly through FY24. Real GDP grew by only 0.1%q/q and 1.1%y/y in the March quarter of 2024, weighed down by falling real GDP and incomes per capita (-1.3%y/y and -2.8%y/y respectively), ongoing inflation pressures, higher interest rates and stagnant household consumption (+0.1% y/y to March). More positively however, the labour market remains robust, with resilient jobs growth and historically low unemployment. 
• Looking ahead to FY25, growth in household consumption and investment is expected to improve in response to income tax cuts, receding inflation and real incomes growth.
• The latest inflation data for May 2024 (the ABS monthly CPI indicator) estimates that inflation increased by 4.0% over the previous 12 months, well above the RBA’s 2-3% target band. With inflation much stickier than expected, the much-anticipated RBA Cash Rate cuts are likely to commence later in FY25 than previously expected.
• Capacity constraints, high capital costs and high costs for materials continue to limit the industry’s ability to construct new dwellings in response to tight demand. New dwelling approvals have declined and demand for newly built dwellings is hampered by high interest rates, increased construction times and costs. As such, demand for existing housing continues to outstrip supply. NHSAC forecasts indicate that this imbalance is expected to worsen in the near-term, increasing upward pressure on prices and rents for existing housing.
• In the non-residential property market, demand for new retail, office and commercial space weakened in many urban areas during FY24, in response to static household consumption, work-from-home and other trends. Demand for other industrial properties (e.g. healthcare, education, welfare services, hotels) has been more resilient. These trends contributed to a small decline in the volume and value of commercial property settlements across the eastern mainland states during FY24. 

Capital cities contributed more to growth in residential sale volumes in FY24 compared to their regional counterparts

• Volume of residential sale settlements (FY24): 663,158
• Residential sale volumes grew by 5.5% across the five mainland states compared to FY23.
• In FY24, residential sale settlements recorded the strongest growth in NSW (up 10.0%) and the weakest growth in SA (up 0.2%).  

• Demand for regional properties skyrocketed during the COVID pandemic, but this trend has moderated, as growth in property transactions for metropolitan dwellings continued to outpace the regions.
• This was most notable in NSW and VIC. The number of property settlements in regional NSW grew by 1.1% in FY24, compared to 16.1% growth in Greater Sydney. Residential property transactions in Greater Melbourne grew by 8.6% but declined in Regional Victoria by 5.9%. 

• Postcode 3029 (Tarneit) recorded the highest number of residential sale settlements out of all postcodes nationally in FY24. Postcode 3029 includes the suburbs of Tarneit, Truganina and Hoppers Crossing, and is a ‘greenfields’ residential development area on the outskirts of Greater Melbourne.
• Postcodes with a substantial level of greenfield development, including 3029 (Tarneit), 2765 (Marsden Park) and 4306 (Ripley), often rank among the top-10 postcodes in their respective states. Residential sales in these locations tend to include vacant residential land as well as complete new homes. 

$585.6 billion was spent on residential property in FY24

• In FY24, the aggregate value of residential sale settlements was highest in NSW ($215.5 billion), followed by VIC ($142.0 billion) and QLD ($137.6 billion).

The commercial property sector remained sluggish, down 3.2% in FY24 on the previous year

• Volume of commercial sale settlements across NSW, VIC, QLD (FY24): 29,565 
• Commercial sale volumes declined in NSW and VIC compared to FY23. QLD recorded a modest increase (1.9%) in FY24. 

• In FY24, VIC recorded the highest volume of commercial property transactions (10,500), followed by QLD (10,366) and NSW (8,699).

$78.4 billion was spent on commercial property in the eastern states in FY24

• The total spent on commercial property declined in both NSW (-0.1%) and VIC (-5.4%) in FY24, in line with the movement on commercial property transaction volumes.

For further enquiries about this report or other property and mortgage insights, please contact us at research@pexa.com.au.

For media enquiries, please contact: 

Kate Prigg – Corporate Affairs Manager, PEXA 
E: kate.prigg@pexa.com.au 
M: 0497 595 580 

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South Australia 

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