Adelaide is currently the hottest auction market capital for the Ray White network.
Ray White Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee says Adelaide has so far recorded the highest auction clearance rate in the network in July.
After crunching the numbers, Ms Conisbee noted 90 per cent of Adelaide properties had sold on auction day this month. Across Australia right now the average stands at 75 per cent clearance, with Sydney coming in second at 86 per cent.
“While the clearance rate is impressive, more so are the number of bidders. Active bidders per auction has increased substantially over recent months,” Ms Conisbee said of Adelaide’s current auction conditions.
“Per auction, there are currently 4.6 active bidders. This is almost 40 per cent higher than the Australian average of 3.4 active bidders.”
The number of average active bidders has increased by 40 per cent since the start of the year and suggests that market conditions are continuing to accelerate in the Adelaide market.
“This strength in demand we are seeing in auction number is not surprisingly flowing through to pricing,” she said.
Adelaide house prices have increased by 15 per cent over the past 12 months, while units have increased by almost 6 per cent.
Ms Conisbee revealed the most competition can be found in Greenacres in Adelaide’s north-east, attracting on average six active bidders per auction.
Adelaide has also become the most affordable city, according to Ms Conisbee. She noted it had the lowest median of any capital city.
“The median is in fact almost half that of Sydney. Despite this affordability, it’s a city with high levels of amenity and liveability,” she said.
“A big driver of affordability has been fewer higher paid employment opportunities compared to bigger cities. During the pandemic, this has mattered less, primarily because people have started working differently.
“This isn’t all that has helped Adelaide. High growth in government employment has also been a driver.”
These factors have been reflected in the rate of average bidders participating in Ray White auctions across the city. Over winter, average registered bidders hit the double digits at 10 while average active bidders came in at 4.3.
