Auction numbers spike

After a relatively quieter auction market the previous week, the combined capitals experienced a rebound in auction numbers last week, with Melbourne leading the way, according to new data from CoreLogic.

A total of 2,681 homes were auctioned, making it the third busiest week of the year for the capital. The only weeks with higher auction numbers were the week ending May 2 (2,687) and the week ending Oct. 29 (3,381).

With 2,013 results collected thus far, the combined capital's auction clearance rate remained relatively steady, with a preliminary clearance rate of 69% for last week, CoreLogic reported. Although it remained below the 70% mark for the third consecutive week, the preliminary results showed a slight increase (40 basis points) compared to the previous two weeks, which recorded preliminary clearance rates of 68.5% and 68.6%.

While the final results are expected to settle in the low 60% range, the preliminary clearance rate for last week will likely be slightly below the decade average of 65.8%, but still higher than the rate observed at the same time last year (57.6%) when 2,170 auctions took place.

Melbourne witnessed a significant rebound in auction activity last week, with 1,180 homes going under the hammer. The previous week had seen only 468 homes auctioned, as many vendors chose not to compete with the start of the Spring Racing Carnival. With 897 results collected so far, Melbourne experienced a strong recovery in its preliminary clearance rate, reaching 67.7% after being "disrupted" the previous week (60.8%, revised to 57.7% in the final count). This time last year, Melbourne hosted 938 auctions and recorded a final clearance rate of 60.6%.

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Sydney maintained a steady auction volume, with 1,041 auctions held last week, slightly lower than the previous week's 1,059. Despite remaining above the 70% mark, Sydney's preliminary clearance rate of 70.4% was the lowest in five weeks. With 814 results collected, the withdrawal rate rose to 15.1%, while the portion of properties passed in at auction decreased to 14.5%. In the previous week, the clearance rate was 1.5 percentage points higher at 71.9% (revised down to 65.6% in the final count), and 58.4% of the 775 auctions held at this time last year were successful.

Smaller capitals

Adelaide continued to stand out with the strongest clearance rate, recording a preliminary rate of nearly 80% (78.8%), and consistently maintaining final clearance rates in the mid-to-high 70% range. Despite experiencing an 11.8% decline in activity compared to the previous week, Adelaide was the busiest among the smaller auction capitals, with 157 homes auctioned.

Brisbane reported the strongest preliminary clearance rate in five weeks, with 71.2% of the 155 homes auctioned achieving a successful result. Auction conditions in Canberra remained sluggish, with a preliminary clearance rate of 56.8% for the 129 homes auctioned. In Perth, only seven out of 16 homes auctioned returned positive results, while the single result collected in Tasmania was unsuccessful.

Looking ahead, the volume of scheduled auctions is expected to increase this week, with approximately 3,200 homes set to go under the hammer.

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