Australia’s auction markets showed signs of growth last week, with volumes almost double that of the previous week, the latest figures from CoreLogic revealed.
The analytics firm tracked 1,167 auctions across the country’s capital cities, rising from 648 the previous week. However, the number is lower than the 2,022 homes taken to auction in the same period last year.
Sydney registered its busiest week since April, making up 70% of the overall auction activity from 5 to 11 October, with 820 properties scheduled for bidding. The figure is almost twice as much as the 430 auctions held the week prior and more than last year’s 733.
In Melbourne, the current lockdown continued to impact auction activity as volumes remained low at 59 homes, an uptick from the 55 of the previous week, but only 6% of the 974 auctions held in the city one year ago.
Across the smaller capitals, Brisbane registered the nation’s second busiest auction market this weekend, with 106 homes up for bidding. Canberra followed with 99. Adelaide and Perth came next with 69 and 13 properties scheduled for auction, respectively.
Clearance rates slightly increase
In the week ending 4 October, auction volumes in capital cities dropped to 648 compared to 1,082 in the last week of September. The figure was more than a two-fold decline year-on-year.
Of the 639 reported results from 30 September to 4 October, 64.4% were successful, which was a slight improvement from the week prior when a 64.2% final clearance rate was posted.
Melbourne registered a 60.8% success rate for the 55 properties scheduled for auction during the period, while 33% were withdrawn. Of the 31 homes purchased across the city, 58% were reportedly sold prior to the scheduled auction date.
In Sydney, weekly clearance rate slightly increased in the week ending 4 October. The city hosted 430 auctions, posting a final clearance rate of 65.8% up from the 65.4% from the week prior when 812 homes were up for bidding. One year ago, only 317 properties were auctioned but the clearance rate was at 74.7%.
Canberra performed best among the smaller capitals, posting a more than 80% of success rate. Perth came in with the second highest clearance rate at 68.4%, albeit volumes across the city remained low.
