- The market is set to see 1,324 homes go to auction.
- Multiple public holidays are the driver behind the lower numbers.
- Last weekend wrapped up as the second busiest for this year.
The Australian auction market is scheduled to see just 1,324 homes go under the hammer this weekend, as public holidays are observed across South Australia, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, and Queensland, according to CoreLogic.
SA, ACT, and NSW will see long weekends due to Labour Day, Queensland observes the King’s Birthday, and Victoria takes time off for the AFL grand final.
While lower, this weekend remains above the mid-June low of 1,033 auctions.
The same time last year saw more homes (1,618) head to auction, with last year’s AFL grand final and Monarch’s birthday in Queensland falling the week prior.
| City | Auctions |
|---|---|
| Melbourne | 223 |
| Sydney | 805 |
| Brisbane | 111 |
| Adelaide | 86 |
| Canberra | 83 |
| Perth | 14 |
| Tasmania | 2 |
Source: CoreLogic.
Melbourne expects to host its quietest week since Easter when it saw 108 homes go under the hammer.
Sydney is set to see its quietest auction weekend in seven weeks, and Brisbane and Adelaide are seeing last week’s auction numbers halve.
Final results for the week ending 24 September 2023
Last weekend came in as the second busiest week of the year to date, according to CoreLogic, just 39 homes shy of the first auction of April, when the market saw 2,687 homes head under the hammer.
The final clearance rate for last week was 66.1%.
CoreLogic’s Kaytlin Ezzy noted that:
“The rise in the clearance rate was driven by a -1.2 percentage point decrease in the withdrawal rate (7.6%) and a milder -50 basis point decline in the portion of properties passed in at auction (26.3%).”
“Several public holidays, including the AFL grand final, the Sovereign’s birthday in QLD and WA and the national day of mourning for Her Majesty the Queen, saw just 1,316 homes auctioned this time last year —60.0% were successful,” she added.
As Melbourne’s auction numbers rose (+11.2%), so did the clearance rate, coming in at 63.9%. The previous week’s clearance rate was 60 basis points lower at 63.3%, while 64.6% of auctions were successful this time last year.
Sydney also saw rises across activity (+9.7%) and clearance rates (70%). It was the highest rate in five weeks. Ezzy noted that this was driven by a 3.5 ppt fall in the withdrawal rate, while the portion of properties passed in at auction rose 80 basis points week on week.
