Auction Activity Ramps-up
by Jade Harling
Capital city auction activity ramps up after the seasonal slowdown, with 891 homes taken to auction this week; a considerably higher number of auctions when compared to the same week last year (625). The first week of auction reporting of the year returned a preliminary auction clearance rate above 80%. As the remaining results are collected the final clearance rate is expected to revise lower, however it’s likely to remain higher than last year’s 61% final auction clearance rate.
Capital City Auction Statistics (Preliminary)
Melbourne was the busiest auction market this week in terms of volumes with 388 auctions held across the city, returning a preliminary auction clearance rate of 83%, virtually on par with Sydney’s 82.9% preliminary result across a lower 272 auctions. Compared to the same week last year, both volumes and clearance rates are higher across the two largest markets with Melbourne recording a 65.8% final clearance rate across 211 auctions and Sydney a 72.9% success rate across 158 auctions one year ago.
Weekly Clearance Rate, Combined Capital Cities
Across the smaller cities, the performance was varied with both Adelaide and Canberra recording preliminary clearance rates above 80%, Perth saw 66.7% of homes sold, although volumes remain quite low across the city, while around half of the auctions across Brisbane were successful.
Overall, this week’s preliminary auction results indicate the housing market is resuming last year’s trend of strong selling conditions and rising home prices. Over the coming weeks we are expecting the number of auctions to rise further, providing a timely test of the markets depth.
