Director of Harris Real Estate Phil Harris said agents will release more properties for viewing the week beginning April 10.

“There’s a large bank up of stock that is being listed at the moment that is waiting, in a kind of holding pattern, to come on straight after Easter,” Harris said.

“This year I think we’ll see more property released online in the week prior to Easter that might not be available for viewing post Easter.”

The release of properties will occur as vendors wait until after the long weekend to list homes for an uninterrupted sale campaign.

Harris said though homebuyers can expect stock levels to rise, the market will still favour the seller.

“Here in Adelaide the challenge for homebuyers is still as much as we say there’s going to be more stock available, there is a legitimate stock shortage,” he said.

“Even more particularly, a shortage of high-quality stock.

“I think the competition will probably continue to be the strongest level of buyer competition we’ve seen in Adelaide for decades.”

The anticipated stock release follows last weekend being the nation’s busiest week for auctions since 2018.

Data by CoreLogic indicates 156 homes went to auction in Adelaide compared to 113 the previous year.

Some realtors will work over the long weekend.

With housing demand continuing to surge, some Adelaide agencies will allow for buyer activity over Easter.

Harris said he is planning to hold auctions over the long weekend to accommodate keen buyers.

“We will have a couple of auctions on [Easter] Saturday, but it won’t be a large auction day booking compared to a regular weekend,” he said.

“The three weeks post-Easter, however, will be a bumper weekend with a lot of properties going up.”

Director of the Real Estate Institue of South Australia (REISA) and Principal at Refined Real Estate Victor Velgush said he expects more realtors to hold viewings and auctions as he prepares for open houses over the long weekend.

“In previous years, we’ve had times where we’ve rested over Easter – but this year there’s extreme demand conditions,” Velgush said.

“People are prioritising real estate and considering that [most agencies] will be at least slightly busy.

“Given how hot the market is we’ll probably schedule private or small group viewings for Sunday and Monday.”

Velgush said buyers wanting to use the long weekend to secure a property should act quickly but not irrationally.

“Successful investors quite often will make a strong offer and make it quickly,” Velgush said.

“But there are some people who are getting carried away and paying huge prices and they are, in hindsight, realising that they probably didn’t need to go that much.”

Boom set to continue for the next 12 months

Though Easter often marks a lull in the real estate market, as the RBA has no plans to increase record-low interest rates until 2024, the market boom may continue.

New REISA CEO Barry Money said the current market condition is likely to sustain the rest of 2021.

“If you look at the macro-economic factors – fiscal policy and interest rates out of the RBA, stimuli for buyers and builders, that combined with the PDI Act… You have a great cocktail for the market to continue to sustain record levels,” Money said.

“I think as stock comes onto the market, and let’s say the PDI act will open up supply in the next 12 to 18 months.

“Until then, I think you’ve got a period of strong growth for sellers and for agents – I think the situation is to be continued for a period of time.”