Auction volumes reached their highest point since May 2022
The first month of spring saw a surge in combined capital auction volumes, reaching the highest point since May 2022, according to the Domain Auction Report for September.
With a total of 9,518 auctions conducted, this increase in activity indicates a continued recovery in Australia's housing market, Domain said. Additionally, the combined regionals saw the highest auction volumes since December 2022, with a total of 1,340 auctions taking place.
Despite the increase in auction volumes, clearance rates experienced a decline over the month, the report found. However, it is worth noting that clearance rates still remain higher when compared to the previous year. The combined capitals recorded a clearance rate of 64.5%, while the combined regionals recorded a clearance rate of 44.6%.
Analysing the clearance rates of individual capital cities, Adelaide emerged as the best-performing city, boasting a clearance rate of 74.5%. Sydney and Melbourne also maintained healthy clearance rates, both exceeding 60%.
When it comes to the breakdown between houses and units, across the combined capitals, house clearance rates remained higher than units. This trend was generally observed across most capital cities, with the exception of Melbourne, Domain reported.
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Furthermore, the median auction price witnessed increases in certain markets, the report found. Melbourne houses experienced an annual change of 2.4%, showcasing a positive growth trend. Brisbane units also saw a significant increase of 9.2% compared to the previous month.
“The September auction performance shows Australia’s housing market is in the continued recovery,” said Dr Nicola Powell (pictured above), chief of research and economics at Domain.
“While clearance rates have fallen, they remain high relative to recent years. This drop in clearance rates is driven by increased auction listings for the third consecutive month, providing prospective buyers with more choices – helping to ease competition and urgency.
“The lift in auction listings is driven by stronger clearance rates and property market conditions, motivating sellers to list. This was highlighted when auction listings started ramping up earlier during the winter months, and the official start of the spring selling season saw higher volumes than last year.”
While auction activity plummeted last week due to holiday weekends in several states, it has generally been on the upswing in recent weeks.
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