Victoria's auction market has achieved its highest success rate in 11 years, according to the latest report from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.
The state's clearance rate for the month of February hit 84.8% for more than 3,000 auctions. This success rate beat the record of 84% achieved in 2010.
There were 17 suburbs in the state that reported a 100% success rates in their auction listings. These include Hawthorn East, Fitzroy North, Ferntree Gully, Rowville, Brunswick East, Sandringham, Seaford, Collingwood, Ashburton, Blackburn South, Fawkner, Wantirna, Boronia, Fairfield, Hillside, Seddon, and St Kilda West. These suburbs, however, had listings of 21 homes or fewer.
Reservoir was the top-selling suburb, clearing 44 of the 53 auctions. Coburg came in second with 37 sales, followed by Bentleigh East (35), Preston (34), and Brunswick (34).
"While lockdowns, international border closures, and tightened purse strings have affected many markets, it has not spelled disaster for the Victorian property market as many doomsayers said it would," Gil King, CEO of REIV, told The Real Estate Conversation.
King said support measures such as buyer grants, mortgage repayment holidays, and low interest rates continued to drive activity this year.
"High demand across the state has also been fuelled by an increase in activity following Victoria’s devastating lockdowns, which saw thousands of auctions cancelled," he said.
However, challenges remain, particularly for mum-and-dad investors as changes to the residential tenancy act come into effect his month.
"This will disrupt the market with more red tape and increased ownership costs," he said.
