While much of Australia shivers through a particularly cold winter, property markets around the country are running hot, new data shows.

The latest PropTrack Listings Report found confident vendors have fuelled the fastest start to the traditionally quieter winter selling season in more than a decade.

It follows a bumper trend witnessed in previous months, despite slowing price growth sparked by interest rate hikes by the Reserve Bank. 

“The first half of 2022 has been a strong period for the property market,” report author Angus Moore, an economist with PropTrack, said.

“There’s been a brisk pace of fresh listings on realestate.com.au, with more new listings nationally across the first six months of 2022 than during any other year since 2015.”

At a national level, the number of new listings to hit the site in June were 8.5% higher than the same time last year, and while capital city new listings were down 6.4% month-on-month, activity was stronger than usual for this time of year.

“New listings across the capital cities were 5.9% higher than at the same time in 2021, and it was the busiest start to winter in the capitals in more than a decade,” Mr Moore said.

In Sydney, new listings slumped 8.1% in June compared to May, but are 1.3% higher year-on-year, marking the busiest start to winter since 2015.

Property markets might be cooling, but things are running hot when it comes to new listings. Picture: Getty

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Total listings – that is, the number of properties on the market in June – rose 1.4% month-on-month, representing another busy selling month.

“The string of active months across the start of 2022 has helped lift the overall stock of properties available for sale by 7% above the decade average,” Mr Moore said.

New listings in Melbourne were down 14.6% month-on-month, but that was still 0.5% higher than the same period last year, and the busiest June since 2012.

The total stock of available properties on the market in the Victorian capital is also up 7.3% compared to June last year.

Things were similarly hot across the other major cities, with new listings up sharply compared to June 2021 in almost every capital.

“Canberra had a particularly active June, with new listings up 32.1% compared to the same time last year, representing the fastest June on record for new listings,” Mr Moore said.

The Brisbane market has been particularly busy, with new listings up 8.6% in June compared to May, pushing them 11.4% higher than at the same time last year.

“That is helping give buyers more choice than was the case earlier in the year, but after two years of very strong demand, competition remains tough for buyers searching in Brisbane,” Mr Moore said.

“The total stock of properties listed for sale is still down sharply compared to pre-pandemic levels by about 28%.”

The Adelaide housing market, which has so far defied cooling price growth trends elsewhere in the country throughout 2022, saw new listings down 9.4% in June compared to May.

“Nonetheless it was a fast start to winter, with the busiest June for new listings since 2011, and new listings up 1.2% compared to the same time last year,” Mr Moore said.

“Even so, conditions remain tough for prospective buyers. The total stock of properties for sale in Adelaide is down 13% year-on-year and remains more than a third lower than pre-pandemic levels.”

In regional areas, new listings lifted 2.5% month-on-month to be 12.9% higher across the year, which he said was “good news” for buyers.

“It’s a strong outcome given there’s typically a lull in new listings regionally in winter. The lift in the month meant regional areas had the busiest June for new listings since 2014.”

Year-on-year changes in new property listings hitting the market.

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The total number of properties on the market across Australia was up 1.9% in June, giving active homebuyers a bit more choice.

And year-on-year changes in the total number of properties on the market.

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And Mr Moore said there are still many buyers in the market for a new property, despite the uncertainty sparked by rising interest rates.

“While conditions are likely to slow a little as we continue through the typically quieter winter period, activity has remained robust in many markets and a number of areas have already recorded busier-than-typical starts to winter,” he said.

“Measures of buyer demand have declined off their high levels earlier in the year.”

Supply is lifting in most areas, but in cities like Brisbane listings remain below pre-pandemic levels. Picture: Getty

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The fundamental drivers of homebuyer demand also remain strong, with record low unemployment, signs of wages growth towards the back end of the year, and the return of international migration.

Markets that have been constrained by very low levels of housing stock, particularly Sydney and Melbourne, are seeing more choice come to market, easing the intense competition that had faced many buyers.

“The stock of properties for sale in these cities is now around or even above the decade average,” he said.