- Activity continues to ramp up week on week.
- Melbourne to hold over 1,000 auctions.
- Last week saw the final clearance rate drop.
The second week of spring is set to see this year’s third busiest weekend, according to CoreLogic data. This continues the recent momentum, with auction markets getting busier for the fifth consecutive week.
Across Australia’s capital cities, 2,357 homes are set to go under the hammer.
Auction activity for the week ending 10 September 2023
| City | Auction activity | Week-on-week change |
|---|---|---|
| Melbourne | 1,035 homes | +2.6% |
| Sydney | 958 homes | +4.9% |
| Brisbane | 133 homes | -14.7% |
| Adelaide | 129 homes | +25.2% |
| Canberra | 90 homes | -5.3% |
| Perth | 12 homes | +50.0% |
| Total | 2,357 homes |
Source: CoreLogic.
Among the highlights:
- Melbourne is hosting its third consecutive week of >1,000 auctions,
- This weekend’s auction activity in Melbourne is 22.2% higher than this time last year (847).
- Sydney auction activity is set to rise for the fifth consecutive week,
- This weekend will be Sydney’s second busiest of the year to date.
Last week saw clearance rates ease
The week ending 3 September recorded a marginal rise in activity, hosting 2,286 auctions.
While activity rose, the final clearance rate declined. The 65.4% final clearance rate across the combined capitals is the second consecutive week of easing, down 1.4 percentage points on the week prior (66.8%).
CoreLogic noted that the decline was largely due to a dip in buyer activity, with the portion of properties passed in at auction (27.0%) rising to its highest in three weeks.
Final auction statistics for the week ending 3 September 2023
| City | Clearance rate | Total auctions | Cleared auctions | Uncleared auctions |
|
Sydney |
68.2% | 913 | 623 | 290 |
| Melbourne | 63.8% | 1,009 | 644 | 365 |
| Brisbane | 60.3% | 156 | 94 | 62 |
| Adelaide | 75.7% | 103 | 78 | 25 |
| Perth | n.a. | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| Tasmania | n.a. | 2 | 1 | 1 |
|
Canberra |
54.7% | 95 | 52 | 43 |
| Weighted Average | 65.4% | 2,286 | 1,496 | 790 |
Source: CoreLogic.
Melbourne’s auction market saw over 1,000 auctions for the second consecutive week and was 29.9% higher than the same time last year when 777 homes were auctioned. The final clearance rate was 90 basis points down on the week prior (64.7%), but 1.1 ppt above last year (62.7%).
While Melbourne auction activity eased 5.9% last week, Sydney hosted its busiest auction week since early April and the second busiest year-to-date. The 913 auctions held in Sydney were also 32.5% higher than the same week last year (689). While volume rose, the clearance rate well by 90 basis points, the lowest in four weeks.
The smaller capitals of Adelaide, Brisbane, and Canberra all recorded declines in the clearance rate. Adelaide recorded a 7.6 ppt fall, Brisbane was down 1.7 ppt, and Canberra was down 1.4 ppt.
In Perth, four of the eight auctions held last week reported a successful result, and one of the two auctions held in Tasmania was successful.
