Home prices are hitting new peaks in most regions and fewer homes are being sold below asking price, but many regions are experiencing a rise in homes being sold at a discount.
According to PropTrack's April Home Price Index, home prices grew by 0.23% over the past month and are 6.6% higher than April 2023.
This reflects 16 months of consecutive growth, driven by strong population growth, tight rental market conditions, a more stable interest rate environment and home equity gains, among many other factors.
Not only have prices risen, but the proportion of homes sold at a discount has also steadily declined since the beginning of 2023. While this is positive news for sellers, more buyers will need to meet or exceed the asking price to secure a property.
However, buyers in some regions are experiencing the contrary.
To understand where conditions are better for buyers, we looked at the SA4 regions with the greatest increase in the rate of vendor discounting or the share of homes sold below the asking price.
SA4 regions are areas defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics that generally have populations between 100,000 and 500,000.
In Sydney - City and Inner South, about 51% of properties were sold below asking price compared to just 33% a year prior. This reflects a 18 percentage point (ppt) increase in vendor discounting, the highest among all SA4 regions.
| SA4 region | Metro / Regional | Share of sales below asking price - April 2023 | Share of sales below asking price - April 2024 | Percentage point change |
| Sydney - City and Inner South | Metro NSW | 33.3% | 50.8% | 17.5 |
| Riverina | Regional NSW | 61.5% | 77.4% | 15.8 |
| Murray | Regional NSW | 57.5% | 69.9% | 12.3 |
| Warrnambool and South West | Regional VIC | 67.4% | 76.9% | 9.5 |
| North West | Regional VIC | 45.8% | 55.1% | 9.3 |
| Ballarat | Regional VIC | 63.5% | 72.0% | 8.5 |
| Bendigo | Regional VIC | 50.6% | 58.7% | 8.1 |
| Sydney - Northern Beaches | Metro NSW | 25.0% | 32.9% | 7.9 |
| Sydney - Ryde | Metro NSW | 25.8% | 33.3% | 7.5 |
| Shepparton | Regional VIC | 47.4% | 53.0% | 5.6 |
A larger share of homes in the Riverina and Murray regions were sold at a discount as well. The proportion of properties transacted below asking price rose by 16ppt and 12ppt respectively.
More buyers in the Warrnambool and South West and North West regions in regional Victoria were also able to purchase homes below asking price compared to April last year.
The majority of these SA4s are located in regional NSW and Victoria where prices have grown at a slower pace than in their respective capital cities and other regional areas.
Home prices in regional Victoria have fallen by 0.9% in the past year while in regional NSW, prices have risen by 4.3% which is well below the level seen in regional QLD, SA and WA.
The increase in vendor discounting and lower than average price growth reflects a slowdown in demand and potential declines in competition in these regions, which is good news for those looking to buy.
Although the pace of home price growth has slowed, demand is expected to remain heightened in most parts of the country.
Prices are likely to continue rising as the the supply of homes falls short of demand. Strong population growth, boosted confidence in the market and the ongoing tightening of the rental market are likely to contribute to increases in price as well.
