Australia’s auction market is showing no signs of slowing down, despite new regulatory and budget measures. In fact, last weekend saw the sixth-highest number of auctions so far this year.
A total of 2,794 properties went under the hammer across Australia this weekend; almost 1,000 more than the same time last year, according to CoreLogic’s Property Market Indicator Summary, ending on May 21.
The slight resurgence in auction clearance rates last weekend contrasts sharply with price drops in many of the capital cities this month, according to CoreLogic. Sydney and Melbourne’s home values slid 1.2% and 1.9% respectively. Brisbane is the only capital city to post positive results, with house prices rising 0.6% in the past month.
Auction commentator Kevin Brogan said that while auction results are likely to attract greater scrutiny in the coming weeks, the federal budget’s changes to investor rules aren’t having an immediate effect on market confidence.
“You would think budget measures targeted at investors might have an impact on the market, especially seeing that investors account for 57 per cent of market transactions in Sydney, but what we’re seeing is auction activity rising week-on-week,” Brogan said. “We have seen more auctions this year than at the same time last year, which shows confidence is still strong, but we will certainly be watching the figures closely in the coming weeks to determine what the impact of the regulatory and budget measures are on the overall market.”
CoreLogic’s preliminary figures show that 77.2% of auctions were successful across the combined capital cities, while auction activity rose week-on-week. This is a significant increase from 68.9% in the same week last year.
The two largest auction markets—Sydney and Melbourne—saw clearance rates rise. Sydney had 80.7% (from 1,053) and Melbourne had 79.2% (from 1,323).
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