Sydney and Melbourne drive a surge in auction numbers
The conclusion of school holidays in Victoria has contributed to a 6.3% increase in auction activity this week, with a total of 1,518 homes going under the hammer across the combined capitals.
Sydney and Melbourne were the driving force behind the surge in auction numbers, while the smaller capitals experienced relatively stable volumes, according to new data from CoreLogic. However, despite the week-on-week improvement, this week's capital city auction activity remains 10.1% lower than the corresponding period last year, when 1,689 auctions took place.
With 1,132 results collected so far, the preliminary clearance rate for the combined capitals stands at 72.3%, reflecting a 2.2-percentage-point decrease from last week's preliminary rate of 74.5%, which eventually revised down to 68.4% at final figures. In comparison, during the same period last year, only 53.0% of auctions resulted in a successful sale, CoreLogic reported.
After a lull during the school holidays, auction activity in Melbourne rebounded with an 11.4% increase this week, seeing a total of 636 auctions held in the city. This is up from the 571 homes auctioned last week but slightly lower than the 675 auctions recorded during the same period last year.
Melbourne stands out as the only capital city to experience a rise in the preliminary clearance rate this week, with 74.3% of the 502 results collected so far indicating a successful outcome, CoreLogic reported. This preliminary clearance rate is 1.5 percentage points higher than the previous week (72.8% revised to 68%) and significantly stronger by 22.1 percentage points compared to the same time last year (52.2%), when selling conditions were notably weaker.
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In Sydney, a total of 600 homes went under the hammer this week, showing a slight increase from the 567 auctions conducted the previous week. However, this represents a 6% decrease from the 638 auctions held during the corresponding period last year. Of the 434 results collected thus far, 74.9% have returned a successful outcome, indicating a decline of 70 basis points from the previous week.
The decline in the preliminary clearance rate is believed to be influenced by a lack of vendor confidence, as evidenced by a higher withdrawal rate of 12.7%, although the percentage of properties passed in at auction decreased to 12.4%. Despite this decline, Sydney maintains the highest preliminary clearance rate among the capital cities. Last week, a preliminary clearance rate of 75.6% (revised down to 68.8%) was reported, while during the same period last year, 54% of auctions resulted in a successful sale.
Smaller capitals
In the smaller capital cities, both Adelaide and Brisbane saw 102 homes go up for auction this week. However, both markets experienced their lowest preliminary clearance rate in four weeks, with 71.4% of Adelaide auctions and 59.8% of Brisbane auctions achieving a successful outcome, CoreLogic reported.
Canberra witnessed a decline in both the preliminary clearance rate and auction numbers, with a decrease of 16.3 percentage points and 20.8%, respectively. Out of the 57 homes auctioned in the city this week, only 60% recorded a successful sale.
In Perth, a total of 20 homes went under the hammer this week, with five successful sales recorded so far, CoreLogic reported. Meanwhile, in Tasmania, the single auction held this week concluded with a successful outcome.
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