Clearance rate remains relatively steady, however
In the first week of summer, the Australian property market experienced a surge in auction activity across major cities.
According to CoreLogic, a total of 2,999 auctions were tracked, marking a 1.7% increase from the previous week's 2,949 auctions. This makes it the second-busiest auction week of the year, falling just short of the “Super Saturday” event that took place on the week ending Oct. 29, when a staggering 3,381 homes were auctioned.
After recording a preliminary rate of 65.9% the week prior (revised to 60.8%), the combined capitals witnessed a slight improvement in early success rates last week, with a 1.1-percentage-point rise, CoreLogic reported. Out of the 2,200 results collected so far, 67% reported a successful outcome. Although there was a subtle uptick, this remains one of the lower early results of the year to date. Comparatively, during the same period last year, 57.8% of the 2,537 homes auctioned across the capitals were deemed successful.
Sydney emerged as the city with the second-busiest auction week of the year, hosting 1,112 auctions. This represents a slight decrease of -2.6% from the previous week's figure of 1,142, which marked the city's busiest week. Despite the overall increase in auction numbers, Sydney experienced a slight easing in the early clearance rate, dropping from 68.7% the previous week (revised down to 63.9% once finalised) to 68.5%. With 834 results collected thus far, last week's preliminary rate was the lowest since mid-February (67.4%). During the same week last year, Sydney hosted 891 auctions, with a final clearance rate of 59%, CoreLogic reported.
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Melbourne rebounded from a -7.2% dip in auction activity the previous week, recording a 5.4% increase to reach 1,380 auctions. This makes it the third-busiest auction week of the year, with volumes 19.2% higher than the same period last year (1,158), according to CoreLogic. The early success rate in Melbourne saw a slight improvement of 50 basis points, with 64.6% of the 1,055 results collected reporting a positive outcome. In the previous week, a preliminary clearance rate of 64.1% was recorded (revised to 57.7% at final numbers), while during the same week last year, 58.6% of auctions resulted in a successful sale.
Smaller capitals
Among the smaller auction capitals, Adelaide led the way with 190 homes auctioned, making it the busiest week of the year for the city. Brisbane followed closely with 178 homes going under the hammer, while Canberra recorded 120 auctions, CoreLogic reported.
Adelaide and Brisbane boasted strong early success rates, with 77.4% and 76.1% respectively, surpassing their long-run averages. In contrast, Canberra's preliminary clearance rate was more sluggish at 55.1%, despite a 2.4 percentage point increase from the previous week. Perth and Tasmania witnessed a lower number of auctions, with only six successful sales out of 17 in Perth, and no reported successful results from the two auctions held in Tasmania.
Looking ahead, capital city auction numbers are expected to remain relatively high in the coming weeks, with over 3,000 auctions scheduled for this week. However, activity is anticipated to ease during the festive period.
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