---
title: "This Free Website Shows You More Property Data Than Your Agent Ever Will"
description: "How to use SQM Research for vacancy rates, auction clearance, asking prices, and stock on market — the four data points that predict suburb performance."
author: Joey Don
date: 2023-02-16
category: Guides
url: https://premiumrea.com.au/blog/sqm-research-free-property-data-tool-guide
tags: ["SQM Research", "property data", "vacancy rates", "auction clearance", "free tools", "due diligence", "investment research"]
---

# This Free Website Shows You More Property Data Than Your Agent Ever Will

*By Joey Don, Co-Founder & CEO at PremiumRea — 2023-02-16*

> Your real estate agent shows you photos and a floor plan. SQM Research shows you vacancy rates, clearance rates, asking price trends, and stock on market. One of these helps you make better investment decisions. Here's how to use the free tool that 99% of buyers don't know about.

I'm constantly amazed by how many property investors — experienced ones, people with three or four properties — have never heard of SQM Research.

They're making $500,000+ purchasing decisions based on realestate.com.au listings and Domain articles. That's like picking stocks based on the company's logo. You're looking at the surface while the actual data sits underneath, freely available, completely ignored.

SQM Research (sqmresearch.com.au) is a property data analytics platform founded by Louis Christopher. It tracks metrics that realestate.com.au and Domain don't surface — or bury so deep in their platforms that nobody finds them.

I'm going to walk you through the four most valuable free features on SQM Research and show you exactly how to use each one to make better investment decisions. Bookmark this article. You'll come back to it every time you're evaluating a new suburb.

## Tool 1: Vacancy rates — the single most important number

Vacancy rate tells you the percentage of rental properties in a suburb that are currently unoccupied. It's the purest measure of rental demand.

A vacancy rate below 2% means the market is tight — landlords have pricing power, tenants compete for limited stock, and rents rise. A vacancy rate above 3% means supply exceeds demand — tenants have options, landlords compete on price, and rents stagnate or fall [1].

On SQM Research, work through to the vacancy rate section and enter the postcode of your target suburb. You'll see a chart showing vacancy over time — typically the past three to five years.

What to look for: is the trend declining? A vacancy rate dropping from 3.5% to 1.8% over two years tells you demand is accelerating faster than supply. That's a buy signal. A vacancy rate rising from 1.5% to 3.2% tells you supply is catching up. That's a caution signal.

Our target suburbs in Melbourne's southeast consistently show vacancy rates of 1.2-1.5%. That's why we can rent properties within fourteen days of listing and why our tenants often offer above-asking rent to secure a home [2].

If the suburb you're considering has a vacancy rate above 3%, think very carefully. High vacancy means your property could sit empty for weeks or months between tenants, and your expected rental income becomes theoretical rather than actual.

## Tool 2: Asking prices — the market's real-time pulse

Realestate.com.au shows you individual listing prices. SQM Research aggregates asking prices across an entire suburb and plots the trend over time.

This is incredibly useful because it shows you whether prices are rising, flat, or falling — in near real-time, not delayed by three months like official median price data.

Go to the Asking Prices section. Enter your suburb's postcode. You'll see separate charts for houses and units, showing median asking prices over the past two to three years.

What to look for: a steadily rising asking price trend confirms that vendors are increasing their expectations — which is a leading indicator of realised price growth. Flat or declining asking prices suggest the market is softening.

I use this to time negotiations. When asking prices are rising steeply, I know vendors will hold firm. When asking prices flatten, I know there's room to negotiate harder — because the vendor's confidence is wobbling even if they won't admit it [3].

Pro tip: compare the asking price chart with the vacancy rate chart for the same suburb. If asking prices are rising while vacancy is falling, you're looking at a suburb with genuine demand pressure. If asking prices are rising but vacancy is also rising, the price gains may be unsustainable — vendors are aspirational but the demand isn't there to support it.

## Tool 3: Stock on market — supply pipeline visibility

Stock on market tells you how many properties are currently listed for sale in a suburb. It's the supply side of the equation.

Low stock on market means few vendors are selling — creating scarcity that supports prices. High stock on market means plenty of options for buyers — creating competition among sellers that moderates prices.

On SQM Research, the stock on market data shows total listings over time. You can see whether the listing volume is seasonal (the usual spring spike), trend-based (steadily increasing, which often signals investor exits), or declining (fewer properties available, building scarcity).

The seasonal pattern matters. Every year, listings spike in September-November as vendors try to sell before Christmas. If the current stock level is above the seasonal norm for this time of year, the market has more supply than usual — which means more negotiating room. If it's below the seasonal norm, competition is building.

I combine stock on market with vacancy data. Low vacancy (demand strong) plus low stock on market (supply constrained) is the ideal investment signal. The suburb has both demand pressure and supply scarcity working simultaneously. In our target suburbs in Melbourne's southeast, we consistently see both metrics aligned — vacancy below 1.5% and stock on market below the twelve-month average.

High vacancy plus high stock on market is the opposite — a market where both renters and buyers have options, and neither rents nor prices have upward pressure. If you see this combination in a suburb you're considering, proceed with extreme caution.

## Tool 3: Stock on market — supply pipeline visibility

Stock on market tells you how many properties are currently listed for sale in a suburb. It's the supply side of the equation.

Low stock on market means few vendors are selling — creating scarcity that supports prices. High stock on market means plenty of options for buyers — creating competition that moderates prices.

On SQM Research, the stock on market data shows total listings over time. You can see whether the listing volume is seasonal (the usual spring spike), trend-based (steadily increasing = more vendors, often a sign of investor exits), or declining (fewer properties available = building scarcity) [4].

Combine this with vacancy data. Low vacancy (demand strong) plus low stock on market (supply constrained) is the ideal investment signal. The suburb has both demand pressure and supply scarcity working in your favour.

High vacancy plus high stock on market is the opposite — a market where both renters and buyers have options, and neither rents nor prices have upward pressure.

I check stock on market weekly for our target suburbs. When I see listings drop below the twelve-month average, I know competition is about to intensify and I accelerate our off-market sourcing efforts. Getting ahead of supply scarcity by two to four weeks can be the difference between securing a property at fair value and fighting five other buyers at auction.

## Tool 4: Auction clearance rates — sentiment decoded

Auction results are published everywhere. But SQM Research presents them in a way that's actually useful: as a trend over time, broken down by region.

A clearance rate above 70% indicates a seller's market — most properties sell at or above reserve. Below 55% indicates a buyer's market — properties are passing in and selling via post-auction negotiation [5].

Watch the trend, not the individual week. A clearance rate climbing from 55% to 72% over three months tells you buyer confidence is returning. One that's dropping from 75% to 58% tells you the market is cooling.

For investment decisions, I use clearance rates as a timing indicator rather than a pricing indicator. When clearance rates are high and rising, I'm more likely to go unconditional quickly because competition will be fierce. When they're moderate or falling, I have more time to negotiate and can push harder on price.

SQM Research is one of about fifteen data tools I use to evaluate suburbs and properties. But it's the most accessible one for DIY investors because it's free, well-maintained, and updated regularly. Combined with RateMyAgent for agent identification, atlas.id.com.au for demographic mapping, and the standard portals for property-level detail, you've got a research toolkit that puts you ahead of 95% of buyers.

Of course, data without interpretation is just numbers. Knowing what a 1.3% vacancy rate means for your specific investment strategy — whether it supports a granny flat conversion or a rooming house play — requires market experience. But the data is where every good decision starts [6].

## Beyond SQM: the full research toolkit

SQM Research is one of about fifteen data tools I use to evaluate suburbs and properties. But it's the most accessible for DIY investors because it's free, well-maintained, and updated regularly.

Here's how it fits with the other tools I've recommended in previous articles:

RateMyAgent (ratemyagent.com.au): identifies the top-volume selling agents in any suburb. Use this to build your off-market sourcing pipeline. Sort by sales volume, not reviews.

Atlas.id (atlas.id.com.au): demographic mapping tool. I use this primarily for social housing density checks and owner-occupier ratio analysis. Select the relevant council, work through to Housing Tenure, and look for social housing concentration above 18%.

RedSuburbs (redsuburbs.com.au): crime heat mapping. Essential for family home buyers and useful for investors assessing neighbourhood quality.

BetterEducation (bettereducation.com.au): school rankings by NAPLAN and ATAR scores. Properties in top-20 school zones command 10-20% premiums.

FindBestHouse (findbesthouse.com): school zone boundary checker. Enter an address, see which school zones the property falls within.

The standard portals — realestate.com.au and Domain — remain essential for property-level detail: photos, floor plans, listing descriptions, and price guides. But they're the starting point, not the analysis.

The combination of SQM Research (market dynamics), atlas.id (demographics), RateMyAgent (agent intelligence), and the standard portals (property detail) gives you a research capability that most buyer's agents don't match. The data is free. The time investment is perhaps two hours per suburb. And the quality of your investment decisions will improve dramatically.

Of course, data without interpretation is just numbers. Knowing what a 1.3% vacancy rate means for your specific investment strategy — whether it supports a granny flat conversion or a rooming house play, whether the suburb's growth trajectory justifies the entry price — requires market experience. But the data is where every good decision starts.

## Common mistakes when interpreting property data

Data is powerful, but only if interpreted correctly. Here are four mistakes I see DIY investors make when using SQM Research and similar tools.

Mistake one: looking at a single data point instead of a trend. A vacancy rate of 1.5% today is meaningless without context. Was it 1.0% six months ago (trending up = weakening) or 2.5% six months ago (trending down = strengthening)? Always look at the chart, not the number. The direction matters more than the level.

Mistake two: ignoring seasonal patterns. Stock on market always rises in September-November and falls in January-February. Vacancy tends to be lowest in February (peak leasing season) and highest in June-July. If you're comparing today's data to three months ago without adjusting for seasonality, you'll draw false conclusions.

Mistake three: applying metro-wide data to specific suburbs. SQM Research provides data at the postcode level, but some investors look at the Melbourne-wide vacancy rate (which includes inner-city apartments with 5%+ vacancy) and assume their outer southeast suburb has the same dynamics. Always drill down to the specific postcode. The gap between Melbourne-wide and suburb-specific data can be enormous.

Mistake four: using data to confirm a decision you've already made. This is the most dangerous mistake of all. If you've already decided you want to buy in a particular suburb, it's tempting to cherry-pick the metrics that support your decision and ignore the ones that don't. The whole point of data-driven analysis is to let the data lead the decision, not the other way around. If the vacancy rate is rising and the asking prices are falling, that's a signal — even if you really like the suburb's vibe.

The discipline to follow data where it leads, even when it contradicts your preferences, is what separates successful investors from unsuccessful ones. SQM Research gives you the data. What you do with it is up to you.

## Putting it all together: a 30-minute research routine

Here's my recommended weekly research routine for active property investors. Total time: approximately 30 minutes.

Monday morning (10 minutes): check SQM Research for your top three target postcodes. Look at vacancy rate trends (any movement in the past week?), asking price trends (rising, flat, or falling?), and stock on market (above or below the twelve-month average?). Note any significant changes.

Monday afternoon (5 minutes): check the REIV or Domain auction results from the previous Saturday. What was the clearance rate in your target region? Is it trending up or down over the past four weeks? High clearance rates (above 70%) signal increasing buyer competition — time to move faster on acquisitions.

Wednesday (10 minutes): search realestate.com.au and Domain for new listings in your target suburbs that match your criteria (land size, price range, bedrooms). Save any that look promising. For each saved listing, note the asking price and compare it to SQM Research's suburb-level asking price data — is the individual property above or below the suburb median?

Friday (5 minutes): review your saved listings from Wednesday. Have any been updated with additional information? Have any already gone under contract? If a property goes under contract within 48 hours of listing, that's a strong demand signal for the suburb.

This routine takes less than the time most people spend scrolling social media on a Monday morning. But over 12 months, it builds a deep, data-informed understanding of your target market that puts you ahead of 95% of investors.

The difference between successful investors and unsuccessful ones isn't intelligence. It's consistency. Showing up every Monday, checking the data, tracking the trends, and acting when the numbers align. SQM Research makes the data accessible. The rest is discipline.

## References

1. [SQM Research, 'Residential Vacancy Rates — Methodology and Definitions', 2020. Below 2% = tight, above 3% = oversupplied.](https://sqmresearch.com.au/graph_vacancy.php)
2. [PremiumRea rental data. Average days to let in target suburbs: 14 days. Vacancy rate 1.2-1.5%.](#)
3. [SQM Research, 'Asking Prices Index — Methodology', 2020. Real-time asking price aggregation by postcode.](https://sqmresearch.com.au/asking-prices.php)
4. [SQM Research, 'Stock on Market — Total Property Listings by Region', 2020.](https://sqmresearch.com.au/total-property-listings.php)
5. [SQM Research, 'Auction Clearance Rates — Weekly Data by Capital City', 2020.](https://sqmresearch.com.au/auction_results.php)
6. [CoreLogic, 'Property Data Tools Comparison — Residential Analytics Platforms', 2020.](https://www.corelogic.com.au/)
7. [Domain Group, 'Monthly Property Market Reports — Methodology and Lag', 2020.](https://www.domain.com.au/research/)
8. [REIV, 'Auction Statistics — Melbourne Metropolitan', Q3 2020.](https://www.reiv.com.au/market-insights/auction-results)
9. [Reserve Bank of Australia, 'Financial Stability Review — Housing Market Indicators', October 2020.](https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/fsr/)

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Source: https://premiumrea.com.au/blog/sqm-research-free-property-data-tool-guide
Publisher: PremiumRea (Optima Real Estate) — Melbourne buyers agent