Capitals see second-busiest auction week of 2023

The combined capital cities of Australia witnessed the second busiest auction week of the year last week, according to new data from CoreLogic.

With a total of 3,019 auctions held, the numbers exceeded the 3,000 mark for only the second time this year, posting a 13.7% increase compared to the previous week and a 31.4% surge from the same period last year.

However, despite the rise in auction volumes, there was a dip in the preliminary clearance rate. At 68%, this was the lowest rate recorded since Easter, when the clearance rate was 67.8%. The decline in clearance rate was primarily driven by vendors, as the withdrawal rate in the combined capitals rose to 10.9%, according to CoreLogic. Concurrently, the portion of properties passed in at auction fell to 21.2%.

In comparison, the previous week's preliminary clearance rate was one percentage point higher at 69.0% (revised to 63.1% once finalised), while 60.2% of auctions held during the same period last year were successful.

Breaking it down further, Melbourne witnessed a surge in auction numbers with 1,414 homes going under the hammer, marking a 19.7% increase from the previous week's 1,181 auctions. This figure also represented the second busiest auction week in Melbourne this year, trailing behind the week ending Octo. 29, which saw 1,725 auctions. The numbers were 40.3% higher than the same period last year when 1,008 homes were auctioned.

In line with the combined capital's result, Melbourne's preliminary clearance rate rose by 30 basis points to 68%, with 1,089 results collected as of now, CoreLogic reported. The previous week's preliminary clearance rate of 67.7% was ultimately revised to 60.7% in the final figures. This time last year, 62.3% of auctions in Melbourne reported a successful result.

Sydney, on the other hand, experienced its busiest auction week in almost 18 months, with 1,081 homes being auctioned. This represented an increase from the previous week's 1,020 auctions and a significant rise from the 778 homes auctioned during the same period last year, according to CoreLogic. In fact, last week's numbers were the highest recorded in Sydney since late May 2022, when 1,109 homes went under the hammer. However, the preliminary clearance rate in Sydney fell below the 70% mark for the first time in six weeks, standing at 68.7% with 828 results collected so far. This preliminary rate was the lowest since mid-February (67.4%) and was 1.7 percentage points lower than the previous week's rate (70.4%). The revised figures from the previous week were in line with the final results recorded this time last year, with a clearance rate of 64.2%.

Smaller capitals

Among the smaller capitals, Brisbane emerged as the busiest auction market, witnessing a 37.3% increase in activity with 206 homes going under the hammer. Adelaide recorded its busiest auction week of the year, with 189 homes auctioned, marking a 19.6% increase from the previous week. However, auction activity in Canberra and Perth experienced a slight decline, with a decrease of 14.8% and 6.3% respectively.

Adelaide's preliminary clearance rate rose above the 80% mark, with 80.9% of auctions yielding a successful result, while Canberra's preliminary clearance rate saw a rise of 7.4 percentage points, reaching 64.2%. In Brisbane, 58.1% of auctions were successful, reflecting a decrease of 13.1 percentage points from the previous week. None of the five auctions held in Tasmania returned successful results, and only four auctions in Perth had positive outcomes.

As the real estate market approaches its peak in seasonal activity, auction numbers are expected to rise slightly this week, with approximately 3,100 auctions currently scheduled across the capital cities, CoreLogic reported.

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