house auction
Image: Canva.
  • 2,148 homes taken to auction last week, according to CoreLogic
  • Tighter COVID restrictions in Melbourne caused downward revision of results
  • SQM Research recorded lower clearance rates due to differences in methodology

According to CoreLogic’s latest results, there were 2,418 homes taken to auction across the combined capital cities last week.

This was revised down from 2,610 auctions predicted earlier, mainly due to Melbourne’s tighter COVID restrictions.

Capital City Auction Statistics (Preliminary)

Source: CoreLogic.

CoreLogic’s data shows a clear rise in preliminary auction clearance rates across all capital cities compared to last year.

There were 786 auctions held across Melbourne this week, revised down from the 955 originally scheduled. Of the 650 results collected according to CoreLogic’s methodology, 71.5% were successful, down from the previous week of 73% and ultimately revising down to 68.8% at final figures.

Why the difference with other property research?

When comparing CoreLogic’s Melbourne results to other property data publishers, SQM’s auction clearance rate for the same period recorded a dramatically lower 26.2% (with a sharp decline in the previous weeks).

[Select part of the chart to zoom in on various years, and ‘reset zoom’ button to return]

SQM’s other capital city results also record much lower auction clearance rates.

This is due to the differences in methodology. The key difference between SQM and other publishers is that they account for all scheduled auctions published to take place, as opposed to just those confirmed by agents on the day.

For example, Domain’s preliminary auction clearance rate for Melbourne last Saturday was 73%, a similar result to CoreLogic. However, their result only takes into account the reported/confirmed results on the day, excluding other results that may have been rescheduled for another time (results which SQM does take into account when computing their clearance rates).

Meanwhile, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria’s (REIV) auction clearance rate reported on 693 auctions, with a clearance rate of 82% (down from last week’s 92%). Again this is a high result compared to SQM Research, but for a different reason. The high result is likely due to the fact that REIV only reports auctions from their members and hence is dealing with a smaller subset.

However, the overall trend for Melbourne is that auction clearance rates have fallen recently, but have held relatively steady in trend terms according to CoreLogic (although CoreLogic, Domain and REIV’s results do not show a sharp decline to the same extent that SQM’s data shows).

How are smaller capital cities doing?

Brisbane recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 79.1% according to CoreLogic, followed by Canberra (78.1%), Adelaide (74.5%) then Perth (54.5%).

SQM’s data for Brisbane recorded a much lower clearance rate, however when extending the time horizon there is a slight upward trend (see below).

[Select part of the chart to zoom in on various years, and ‘reset zoom’ button to return]

Meanwhile, the least difference in auction clearance rate between CoreLogic and SQM was found in Canberra. SQM recorded a clearance rate of 76.7%, and overall this rate looks to be holding steady.

[Select part of the chart to zoom in on various years, and ‘reset zoom’ button to return]




You May Also Like

‘Plenty of buyer interest’ as auction clearance rates hold above 70%

Auction clearance rates have been drifting lower, but there are still plenty of eager buyers buoyed by rising prices.

Auction activity and clearance rates on the rise

Auction activity is on the rise with clearance rates, registered bidders and attendances starting to increase along the east coast.

Clearance rates high but sellers still playing the waiting game: Domain

The expected monthly lift in auction volumes and clearance rates, after a lull in January, occurred in all capitals.

Saturday no longer best auction day

A weekday may be the best time to host an auction, suggests Justin Nickerson

Experts Corner by The Property Tribune

Ko & NPA partner to launch several co-owned luxury properties at Mermaid Beach, Gold Coast

Ko's partnership with NPA Projects provides more opportunities to co-own off-the-plan holiday residences, including exclusive Gold Coast properties

Continue reading

Top Articles

Perth property market: The definitive guide to buying a modular home

Modular homes, misunderstood as inferior, offer efficient, durable alternatives to traditional construction methods.

The 50 square metre solution getting people into their first homes and delivering an answer to ...

Small, modular homes could be a key part of the broader solution to Western Australia's current housing challenges.

The hardest time ever to buy a house in Australia: How Australian home buying got ...

We're currently in a buyer's market, but that doesn't mean Australian house prices are crashing.