- Auction clearance rate for Sydney was the highest it's been in years according to SQM data
- REA's latest report also recorded high auction activity, in addition to trends for future auctions
The latest auction results are in for Sydney, indicating a return to a strong property market that was disrupted by COVID-19 in 2020 (building upon the strong results reported in this article).
According to SQM Research, the auction clearance rate for last Saturday was 71.4% – the highest it has been in years. The overall week recorded a clearance rate of 76.1%.
Real Estate Australia’s (REA) Property Outlook Report for 2021 also recorded high levels of auction activity in Sydney, with the second week of December seeing the most number of auctions all year for 2020.
Clearance rates are expected to continue to be consistently high throughout 2021. However, the report highlights three key differences that will arise going into a post-COVID auction market.
The first is that auction activity will begin to extend to areas previously dominated by private sales. The report cites regional beachside areas as a particular location of interest, currently attracting very high levels of capital city interest and fierce competition.
One of the most viewed auction properties this year was a small weatherboard priced at over $1.3 million in the northern NSW town of Bangalow.
The second key difference is that online auctions will remain driven by international and domestic border closures. They will likely be combined with in-person auctions, creating a new hybrid way of conducting auctions.
Thirdly, the report found that auctions will no longer necessarily be on a Saturday, and this trend is likely to remain in place.
This falls in line with the SQM auction results, which show the number of total auctions scheduled during the week has consistently increased this month.
