After a slowdown over the Easter holiday, auction volumes shoot back up
Auction volumes in the combined capital cities more than doubled this week to 1,704 after the previous week’s Easter holiday weekend, according to new data from CoreLogic.
Auction volumes were also higher than this time last year, although that was the Easter 2022 holiday period.
Scheduled auctions have generally remained lower this year than in the first half of 2022, CoreLogic reported.
Of the 1,333 results collected as of Monday, 69.8% were successful, according to CoreLogic. That’s up two percentage points from last week’s preliminary clearance rate of 67.8%, which was revised down to 61.5% in final figures.
In the four weeks prior to Easter, the preliminary auction clearance rate averaged 68.8%, while the final clearance rate averaged 65.7%. This time last year, the clearance rate averaged 62.4%.
Capital city numbers
Sydney held 680 auctions this week, up from just 371 last week. This time last year, 480 auctions were held in Sydney.
Of the 522 results collected as of Monday, 72% were successful, a 60-basis-point jump from last week’s preliminary clearance rate of 71.4%. That rate was revised down to 64.6% at final figures. This time last year, Sydney posted a clearance rate of 58.9%.
Melbourne was the busiest of the capital cities, posting 706 auctions this week compared to 108 last week and 196 this time last year.
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Of the 590 results collected as of Monday, 72.4% were successful, CoreLogic reported. That’s up 14.8 percentage points on last year’s preliminary clearance rate of 57.6%, which was revised down to 50.9% on final figures. This time last year, Melbourne posted a clearance rate of 64.3%.
Adelaide held the most auctions among the smaller capital cities at 122, followed by Canberra (93) and Brisbane (89). Adelaide also posted the highest preliminary clearance rate at 70.4%. Brisbane reported a preliminary clearance rate of 56.3%, while Canberra’s preliminary clearance rate was 48.7%.
Looking ahead
Auction volumes are predicted to fall slightly next week, with just under 1,500 homes currently scheduled for auction across the combined capitals.
About 635 of those auctions are scheduled in Melbourne, which should overtake Sydney as the busiest auction market next week, CoreLogic reported.
A recent report from CoreLogic detailed how the housing market has evolved since the advent of COVID-19.
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