- Auction volumes rose to 2,170 homes, up from 845 over the Easter week
- Auction clearance rate for combined capital cities reached 80%
- Clearance rates to be tested as rising values create affordability constraints
According to CoreLogic‘s Property Market Indicator Summary, auction volumes rose across the combined capital cities the week ending 11 April with 2,170 homes taken to auction. This was up from the 845 auctions held over the Easter week.
This certainly an improvement over Easter week last year, which had imposed social distancing restrictions, banning on-site auctions. As a result, only 634 auctions were scheduled, 30.6% were cleared and 56.0% were withdrawn.
When looking at the data quarterly, the auction clearance rate reached 80.0% up from 64.4% in the December 2020 quarter and 62.5% in the March quarter of 2020.
An 80.0% clearance rate across the combined capitals has only occurred five times since 2008, and four of those were in March 2021.
CoreLogic’s Head of Research Australia, Eliza Owen said the market has been spurred on by record-low mortgage rates, swiftly improving economic conditions, and a sense of scarcity as total listings across the country remain 26% below the five-year average.
“Sub-market performance across Sydney and Melbourne also echo some interesting housing market trends, such as the desirability of lifestyle markets, which is reflected in especially high clearance rates across the Illawarra (85.1%), the Mornington Peninsula (86.1%), and the Central Coast (86.7%).”
“The Mornington Peninsula and Central Coast also had among the largest year-on-year increase in the clearance rate, up from 50.0% and 46.2% respectively.”
Eliza Owen, CoreLogic Head of Research Australia
“Interestingly, smaller, less traditional auction markets such as Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide have also sustained very high clearance rates through the start of 2021.”
“In the coming quarters, we might expect auction volumes and clearance rates to ease. As with private treaty listings, auction volumes usually see a seasonal dip through cooler months. Auction clearance rates may also be tested as rising values create affordability constraints,” Ms Owen concluded.
Capital city home values recorded a 2.2% monthly increase, and the number of new listings increased 26,000 to a combined total of 83,423 properties.
Sydney remains the most expensive city in Australia, with a median house price of $880,000 and unit price of $661,500. Melbourne comes in as a close second, with a median house price of $725,000.
