Combined capitals see one of the busiest auction weeks of the year
Auction activity in the capitals has experienced an upward trend for the second consecutive week, with a total of 2,056 homes auctioned.
“Up 6.6% from the 1,929 auctioned the previous week, this week marked the combined capital's busiest auction week since before Easter and the fifth busiest week of the year-to-date,” said Kaytlin Ezzy (pictured above), economist at CoreLogic.
The increase in auction numbers was met with a rise in buyer activity, as six out of the seven capitals recorded a week-on-week increase in the preliminary clearance rate, CoreLogic reported. The combined capitals achieved a preliminary clearance rate of 74%, the highest in six weeks, with 1,549 results collected thus far. Last week's preliminary clearance rate stood at 71.3% (revising to 64.7% at final figures). In comparison to this time last year, when 1,816 auctions were held, the final clearance rate was 58.8%.
Sydney
Sydney emerged as the busiest auction market in the country, narrowly surpassing Melbourne. This week, Sydney hosted 839 auctions, a 9.7% increase from the previous week's volume of 765 auctions, and a significant rise of 31.3% compared to the 639 held at the same time last year. With 631 results collected so far, Sydney achieved its highest preliminary clearance rate since late June at 78.7%, with 77.5% of auctions yielding positive results, CoreLogic reported.
However, the withdrawal rate in Sydney increased to 12.2% this week, while the percentage of properties passed in at auction fell to 10.3%. Last week's preliminary clearance rate for Sydney was slightly lower at 75.0%, and this time last year, 59.1% of auctions reported successful results.
Melbourne
“Melbourne was the only city to see a decline in week-on-week auction activity this week, with 838 homes taken under the hammer, down from 877 the previous week,” Ezzy said.
After dropping below 70% last week, Melbourne's preliminary clearance rate rose by 3.2 percentage points to 72.7%. With 699 results collected so far, this week's preliminary rate was the highest in five weeks, according to CoreLogic. In comparison, this time last year, 60.8% of the 779 auctions held across Melbourne were successful.
Smaller capitals
Among the smaller capitals, Brisbane maintained its position as the busiest auction market for the second consecutive week, hosting 155 auctions. Adelaide followed with 116 auctions, and Canberra with 91.
Canberra was the only capital to witness a decline in its preliminary clearance rate, decreasing by -6.2 percentage points to 62.3%. Adelaide saw 76.2% of its auctions achieve positive results, while 69% of auctions held in Brisbane were successful, CoreLogic reported.
Eight out of the 16 auctions in Perth this week have reported results so far, with five recording successful outcomes. Additionally, the sole home scheduled for auction in Tasmania was sold prior to the auction.
“Clearance rates will continue to be tested next week, with almost 2,400 homes currently scheduled for auction across the combined capitals,” Ezzy said.
Have something to say about this story? Let us know in the comments below.
