Home owners from some of Canberra's outer suburbs may not need to wait as long to sell their property as those from inner areas, data shows.
Far south suburbs of Theodore and Wanniassa topped CoreLogic's list of areas with the shortest median time on market in September.
At a median of 28 and 29 days on market, respectively, these suburbs soared below the ACT's average of 45 days last month.
The Tuggeranong suburb of Monash came in at ninth place, with a median of 37 days on market.
Other suburbs on the list included Belconnen's Florey, Latham, Holt, Macgregor and Charnwood.
In Gungahlin, Ngunnawal had a median time on market of 32 days and the typical house in Palmerston sold after 37 days.
Canberra's time on market is coming down
There is good news for sellers right across Canberra, if they are hoping for a snappy sale.
Most regions nationally are seeing time on market increase this spring, largely due to more listings than in other seasons, CoreLogic's executive research director Tim Lawless said.
But in Canberra, the median number of listing days is falling.
That is because demand is tight comparative to this time last year.
"The [Canberra] listings are at about 1.2 per cent below the five-year average for this time of year and 13 per cent lower than this time last year," Mr Lawless said.
What is a 'middle market' and why is it selling quickly?
Canberra's suburbs with the shortest time on market show two trends; they are in outer areas and they fall into what is considered a "middle market" price point.
They are historically what is considered affordable for the typical household, however Mr Lawless said this was rarely the case in 2024.
"If you are on the median income, chances are you can't afford to buy the median-priced dwelling anymore and you're probably looking toward the lower end of the market," he said.
As a result, suburbs in the cheapest quartile tended to top the list in capital cities.
But in the ACT, Charnwood was the only suburb listed in the lowest quartile. The median price here was $691,500.
Mr Lawless said Canberra was somewhat of an "outlier" because housing prices were more in line with household incomes than in other cities.
He said across Australia, the average household would need to spend 50 per cent of their income to service a mortgage.
In Canberra, this number sat closer to 40 per cent, which meant many buyers were more likely to be able to afford properties at a higher price point.
"Canberra doesn't have the same significant affordability changes as other cities, partly because incomes tend to be higher across the ACT," Mr Lawless said.
No suburbs from the upper quartile - which has a median sale price above $1.57 million - made the list.
Would an interest rate cut change this?
Many territory residents hoping to buy into that market are waiting with bated breath for interest rate cuts to unlock higher borrowing capacities.
Mr Lawless said faster selling times for some of Canberra's most expensive suburbs "probably would be an outcome" if that were to happen.
"What we normally see in housing cycles is that the upper quartile tends to lead the cycle, both on the upswing and into the downturn," he said.
Wary buyers may also be turning to "middle market" prices because they have less volatility than extreme ends of the market.
The upper quartile values fell by 1.3 per cent in the three months to October, according to CoreLogic.
Lower quartile values fell 1.1 per cent over that time, but middle values stayed fairly steady with a 0.5 per cent downturn.
This could mean buyers considering a middle price point did not feel as much need to wait and observe changing sale conditions.
