Auction market bounces back from a 20 week low for clearance rates

• Last week was expected to be the busiest weekend of the year.
• The auction market saw 2,550 homes head under the hammer.
• The preliminary clearance rate rose to 72%.

The Australian auction market has returned from the previous week’s underwhelming preliminary clearance rate of 70.1%, which was also the lowest preliminary clearance rate in 20 weeks, to 72%, according to CoreLogic.

While originally expected to be the busiest weekend of the year, some 200 hundred homes were rescheduled for a later date and 184 homes were withdrawn from auction. This made last weekend the second busiest auction week of the year to date.

The 10.2% week-on-week rise in auction activity paled in comparison to the rise from last year’s figures, owing to the fact much of the nation was taking time off; public holidays included the national day of mourning for Her Majesty the Queen, the AFL grand final, and the Sovereign’s birthday in Queensland and Western Australia. Last year saw 1,316 homes go under the hammer with a final clearance rate of 60.0%.

Melbourne saw auction activity return to above the thousand home mark. Hosting 1,038 auctions, it was a 5.7% rise from 982 in the week prior. Given the national day of mourning and the AFL grand final, it came as no surprise that Victorian auctions only came in at 130 last year. The city’s preliminary clearance rate was 70.5%, rising above the 70% mark for just the second time in five weeks.

Sydney recorded the highest preliminary clearance rate in four weeks, at 74.4%. The city hosted 978 auctions. CoreLogic’s Kaytlin Ezzy noted that the rise in preliminary clearance rates was driven by both buyers and vendors:

“Sydney’s withdrawal rate and the portion of properties passed in at auction [fell] to 12.9% and 12.7% respectively.”

Brisbane and Adelaide held their busiest auction weekends, with Adelaide recording the highest preliminary clearance rate among the smaller capitals for the fourteenth consecutive week, at 84.1%.

Over half the homes that headed under the hammer in Canberra reported a successful result, and only five of the 20 homes that were auctioned in Perth were successful.

Source: CoreLogic.