With the official start to the spring selling season just days away, auction activity climbed above the 2000 mark for the first time in nine weeks.
This week, 2018 homes were auctioned across the combined capital cities.
It’s the fourth consecutive week auction activity has jumped, with this week’s auction volume up 10.8 per cent on last week.
It’s also three per cent higher than the same time last year, when 1960 homes went under the hammer, according to CoreLogic.
The increase in auction numbers meant the preliminary clearance rate fell below 60 per cent, to 59.1 per cent, after holding steady above that mark for the previous two weeks.
But the rate is still 1.1 per cent above the 58 per cent clearance rate recorded this time last year.
Sydney
Auction activity jumped significantly in Sydney this week, with 791 homes going under the hammer, which is up 23 per cent on the previous week and 33.6 per cent higher than the same time last year.
But as per the national trend, the preliminary clearance rate dipped to 56.9 per cent, which is the lowest rate in three weeks.
Last week a preliminary rate of 63.4 per cent was later revised to 59.1 per cent.
All are well below the 80.2 per cent clearance rate Sydney achieved at the same time last year.
Melbourne
Melbourne hosted the most auctions of any capital city this week, with 829 homes going under the hammer.
That’s up 6.4 per cent on the previous week but 10.7 per cent lower than at the same time last year.
Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate is down 3.7 per cent this week to 61.3 per cent, but remains much better than the results achieved last year, when the city was still in its sixth lockdown.
Last year, 35.9 per cent of auctions achieved a positive result.
Smaller capitals
Auction volumes rose in Adelaide (up 12.1 per cent) and Perth (up 53.3 per cent) but fell in Canberra (down 13.7 per cent) and Brisbane (down 5.2 per cent) this week.
Brisbane recorded the most auctions but the lowest preliminary clearance rate, with 41.6 per cent of the 145 auctions selling.
Adelaide had 139 auctions for a preliminary clearance rate of 78 per cent, while 62.7 per cent of the 88 auctions in Canberra delivered a positive result.
Perth had just 23 auctions this week and CoreLogic has collected results for 14 of them, with six returning a successful result.
Only one of the three auctions in Tasmania this week was successful.
Domain results
Domain has recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 58.3 per cent after tracking 1674 auctions across the capital cities this week.
Results are in for 1121 of those auctions, with 653 homes selling for a total value of $516.2 million.
Nationally, 181 homes were withdrawn from auction.
This week’s preliminary clearance rate is up from last week’s 55.5 per cent, when 1469 auctions were tracked and 714 sold for a total value of $554.3 million.
Sydney
This week, Sydney’s preliminary clearance rate fell by the smallest of margins, dropping from 56.5 per cent to 56.4 per cent.
Domain tracked 690 auctions this week, with results on 433 reported, including a positive result in 244 of them, while 114 homes were withdrawn from auction.
The properties that sold did so for a combined value of $218.9 per cent.
Melbourne
Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate rose to 60.7 per cent this week, up from 55.4 per cent last week and just 38.8 per cent in the same week last year, due to Covid restrictions.
Of the 733 auctions Domain tracked this week, a result is in for 532 of them, with 323 selling for a total value of $229.6 million.
Ray White results
Ray White recorded its largest auction day preliminary clearance rate in more than two months, with an initial success rate of 61.3 per cent for the 537 auctions the network held across the week.
By the end of August the group will have hosted 2167 auctions, which is 10.1 per cent higher than in August 2021.
This week, 63.9 per cent of vendors were owner-occupiers, while 32.3 per cent were investors.
Similarly, 71.6 per cent of buyers were owner-occupiers and 27.6 were investors.
On average, the group recorded 3.9 registered bidders, with 2.4 of those active during the auction.
This year, Ray White sellers who held off taking the highest offer prior to auction have, on average, been rewarded with 11.07 per cent more on their sale price.
Using the median house price in Australia of $729,000 as an example sale price, 11.07 per cent would be an extra $80,700 added on top.
Sydney
Ray White New South Wales Chief Auctioneer Alex Pattaro said he was continuing to see strong auction results across Greater Sydney.
“Auctions across Sydney are not only achieving a good amount of registered bidders, but crowd attendance is continuing to build,” he said.
“A-grade homes are the first choice for buyers.
“Buyers remain cautious, but when competition presents itself, they are likely to pay more and engage in bidding.
“This means that auction must be the preferred method of sale, as it creates competition and ensures sellers are achieving the best result.”
Brisbane
Ray White Queensland Chief Auctioneer Gavin Croft said he sellers in Brisbane had grasped the change in the market.
“I have had a 100 per cent clearance rate today, with a combination of properties selling under the hammer and properties selling prior,” he said.
“I believe it has taken around 10 weeks to achieve this balancing out of the market, and we are starting to see more of an equilibrium between buyer and seller expectations.”
Melbourne
Ray White Victoria and Tasmania Chief Auctioneer Matt Condon said it was another solid week of volume for Ray White Victoria with just over 160 auctions scheduled across the state.
“Based on preliminary data from the Ray White Group, we saw an average of 3.6 confirmed bidders across Victoria,” he said.
“This is a slight increase on previous weeks.
“Properties that are priced to meet the market are continuing to receive more inspections, bidders and ultimately a better result on auction day.
“It was also great to see buyers bidding fiercely, with a number of properties selling well in excess of the reserve price.”
Mr Condon noted over the past few weeks there seemed to be more demand for quality properties than there is supply across Victoria.
Adelaide
Ray White South Australia and Northern Territory Chief Auctioneer John Morris said in the past couple of weeks, sellers who had chosen a Ray White agent to sell their property had been well rewarded in South Australia.
“While the clearance rates around the country were around 52 per cent, in South Australia our clearance rates were around 72 per cent,” he said.
“This year, Ray White has conducted 40 per cent of all auctions throughout this great state.
“According to our Ray White data compared to industry data, if you engage a Ray White agent, you have a 10.5 per cent higher chance of clearance.”
