Records are continuing to tumble in the Australian property market, with Ray White Group reporting a record month of transactions in March.
Australia’s largest franchise group recorded $8.74 billion in transaction values in March, with Ray White Managing Director Dan White saying the group sold more than 19,000 homes in Australia and New Zealand over the course of the month.
“This result is up a staggering 92 per cent year on year and 30 per cent higher than our previous best month in November 2020,” Mr White said.
Mr White said the result was driven by more vendors deciding to take advantage of the strong market conditions and buyers taking decisive action to secure properties, which he labelled ”the most powerful of combinations”.
The personal best month for the group follows a huge increase in buyer demand so far this year and a booming auction market.
During March, Ray White Australia scheduled 18.5 per cent more auctions than it did over the same period last year, with a total of 2308 properties on the auction block last month.
There was fierce competition on the auction market, with an average of six people registered for each Ray White auction, up 2.5 on last year’s average.
The national auction day clearance rate was also up compared to the same period last year, with 75.4 per cent of auctions selling under the hammer in March.
Ray White brought 10,760 new listings to the market in Australia and New Zealand last month, representing volumes 16 per cent higher than in March 2020, and about 10 per cent more than in November 2020.
The group said the figures went against the consensus of many market commentators that have suggested there is a shortage of listings, with the group saying there is more new stock coming to market now than there has been for several years.
In Sydney, the March auction clearance rate was 84 per cent while 711 properties were scheduled for auction and 8.1 buyers registered to bid on average in the capital city.
Ray White New South Wales Chief Auctioneer Alex Pattaro said he was confident of a big turnout for auctions this weekend, with mass attendances at open for inspections over the Easter long weekend.
“This is a great sign for the market and a clear demonstration of the confidence, strength and activity amongst buyers,” Mr Pattaro said.
“It gives certainty for sellers who are coming to market in April and May that there is a large pool of ready-to-go buyers within the market.”
It was a sentiment echoed by Ray White Victoria and Tasmania Chief Auctioneer Matthew Condon, who said prospective buyers were still out in force last weekend despite the decrease in volumes.
“We saw a slight decrease in crowd sizes at auctions however, active buyers were out in force to secure their desired property,” Mr Condon said.
