Ray White head auctioneer Luke Banitsiotis expects home sellers to do well at auctions in January, following a late rush of homes onto the market in December last year.
Boxing Day house sales have helped put Melbourne’s property market on track for an early rush of house sales this year.
New PropTrack data has shown the city’s new listings in December were 10.2 per cent higher than in 2024, led only by NSW and Canberra.
And one likely factor is that the state’s largest real estate agent has listed hundreds of homes on property websites in anticipation of an early start to the housing market in 2026. Many of them hit the market as Melburnians kicked off the Boxing Day sales.
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Ray White chief auctioneer Luke Banitsiotis said the company will host about 10 percent more auctions in January than last year, with about 300 planned to test the market.
Mr Banitsiotis said the idea was to combine buyers who missed out last year with buyers who had decided to make a move while taking a break from work over the summer.
“And our open houses are pretty strong, for new inventory,” he said.
“So I think it will go well.”
The hotspots are expected to be around Ferntree Gully and Glen Waverley.
![7A Charles St, Brighton East - for Herald Sun Real Estate](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
7A Charles St, Brighton East, went to market with Woodards in Elsternwick on Boxing Day.
Angus Moore, executive director of PropTrack Economics, said that while lower than December quotes for 2020 and 2021, as the city emerged from lockdown, an increase on 2024 figures showed higher seller confidence seen in the spring of last year.
“That was consistent with Melbourne housing market conditions being firmer in 2025 than in 2024,” Moore said.
“Remarkably, prices rose for much of the year, unlike in 2024.”
Barry Plant also recorded an 8 percent increase in December new listings last year, compared to 2024.
CEO Lisa Pennell said she was not so convinced the upturn had occurred broadly across all Melbourne property companies, but noted the company was “poised for a strong January”.
3 Leyland Rd, Ferntree Gully, came onto the market on December 23.
Ms Pennell said it would be interesting to see how they would react to the new year and whether sellers’ confidence in the market would be as strong over the spring as it was in 2026.
She added that talk of rate hikes this year could prompt some owners to become more realistic in their efforts to sell homes, but how the year played out between buyers and sellers still had a number of variables.
Jellis Craig CEO Andrew McCann said they also traded heavily in January with a view to attracting buyers, and that with the exception of the more affluent markets around Boroondara, Stonnington and the top end of Bayside, most markets were poised to rise in January.
“People seem to have more time to do things this time of year,” McCann said.
“On January 10, we were open for inspections with 40 groups present. That is a lack of supply, but also an enthusiastic public eager to get out and about.”
He said the trend occurred on most property types and has continued in recent years.
“There are a lot of people who don’t want to participate at the end of the year, with Christmas coming up. And they’re trying out the New Year’s market, so it’s going to be a great start.”
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