Of every state and territory in Australia, only one favours sellers in the housing market, says the latest Commonwealth Bank – RP Data Home Buyers Index.

The report looks at July’s numbers across the states and territories. Of the eight areas, only the ACT is considered a seller’s market. South Australia and Victoria are considered balanced markets while both Queensland and Tasmania are categorised as extreme buyer’s markets. New South Wales, Northern Territory and Western Australia are all steady buyer’s markets.

Certain areas of the buyer’s markets stick out more than others. The highest concentration of towns and cities favouring the buyer sit in Queensland and Tasmania. In Queensland, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast in particular indicate favourable buying conditions in addition to Wide Bay-Burnett, Far North and West Moreton. Southern and Mersey-Lyell are the top spots in Tasmania. Rounding out the Top 10 Best Buyer’s Markets in the country are South East, SA, Upper Great Southern, WA and Richmond-Tweed, NSW; all are areas of extreme buyer’s market conditions. The common thread with all these areas is they tend to be on the coast and sell a certain lifestyle along with the property.

On the contrary, the No. 1 best area in the seller’s market is not in the ACT, as would be initially expected – it’s in Western Australia, considered a firm buyer’s market. The July data indicated the area, Pilbara, is meeting with extreme seller’s conditions in relation to the resources sector. WA also appears in the No. 5 spot on the Top 10 Best Seller’s Markets list for the Kimberley area, considered a balanced market. Canberra is the sole area in the ACT considered an extreme seller’s market, with a No. 2 spot. The rest of the list includes Melbourne, Central Highlands, Loddon, Mallee and Barwon in VIC, Adelaide, SA and North West, QLD.

What has been your experience in searching for homes in these areas? Do you live in a buyer’s or seller’s market?