Used-car prices hit 13-month high

Public transport is so last year. Everyone now wants their own car, but they’re hot property. And with supply outstripped by demand, prices of good used cars are heading up.

According to carsales’ Head of Commercial Insights, Jeremy Moger, the median price for used cars is the highest it’s been for 13 months.

And it’s not just cars in dealers’ yards that are yielding higher prices. Private sellers are also enjoying the demand in used cars. Indeed, with tight dealer stock, it’s private sellers that are continuing to see COVID-19 jitters translate to cold, hard cash coming their way.

“Availability of dealer used stock onsite is at record low levels,” Moger explained.

“The steep descent [in used-car stock levels] from mid-April slowed from the end of June, and from the end of August has plateaued. The same can’t be said of private listings; the reduction in private stock from mid-April has actually accelerated again from early September.”

More used vehicles advertised for sale on carsales.com.au are being ‘delisted’ [Ed: almost always as they are sold] than there are cars to replace them, Moger revealed, stating that “the delisting rate is at a 13-month high, and what I’d call extreme”.

Another trend that Moger and his team have witnessed is the relative stability of used-car pricing at the dealers, in spite of the end-of-financial-year sales of new cars.

“Since early July, [dealers] have not had to change the price of vehicles as they did previously to get interest from buyers... That trend has been consistent and maintained till now.”

Related: Find out what are the Best Used cars as judged by carsales

Nor have private sellers had to adjust prices downwards for their vehicles to sell during this period.

Based on data extrapolated from carsales audience metrics, Moger says: “Generally speaking, consumers are either relatively ‘highly engaged’, or at the very least at ‘normal’ levels compared to the last 13 months."

Victoria is the one state where this new paradigm doesn’t apply. Moger, describing Victoria as “a bag of crazy right now”, says that there has been a “10 to 15 per cent drop in consumer activity”.

Despite that, median prices for used cars in Victoria remain higher than the median prices in South Australia and Tasmania.

The upshot of all this? Now is probably the ideal time to list and sell that old banger, even if you are in Victoria.

Related: carsales announces Best Used Cars for 2020