Australia’s residential market has recorded a surge in the number of properties listed for sale.

New SQM Research data shows total listings increased by 5.9% in May compared to the previous month. It says that the increase lifted the number of properties being offered for sale nationally to 256,628, which is 1.5% higher than at the same time last year.

Year on year, listings in Perth are up by 20.5%, followed by Canberra, up 10.3% and Sydney, which is up by 9.8%. Hobart listings are up 6.1% and Adelaide listings are up 3.8%.

Listings year on year are down 3.8% in Brisbane and 0.6% in Melbourne, while Darwin had the biggest decline of 28.4%. SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher says the increase is not unexpected. “As expected, we saw a large lift in listings following the federal election. The bounce in new listings indicates renewed confidence,” he says. He says at the same time, older stock continues to accumulate in cities such as Sydney and Melbourne, suggesting that many vendor pricing expectations may still be out of step with the market.