The preliminary clearance rate has lifted above 70 per cent for the first time since April last year, with CoreLogic figures showing 70.8 per cent of properties selling under the hammer last week.
Auctions in the capital cities continued to rise this week, as 1825 homes went under the hammer, indicating a 23.1 per cent increase compared to last week’s 1,482 auctions.
However, this week saw 1000 fewer capital city homes taken to auction compared to this time last year.
The preliminary clearance rate of 70.8 per cent is 5.6 percentage points higher than last week’s rate.
However, it is 2 percentage points below this time last year when 72.8 per cent of capital city auctions were successful.
Melbourne saw a significant uptick in activity, with 790 homes going under the hammer this week, up 40.1 per cent from the previous week.
Of the 669 results collected so far, 67.7 per cent were successful.
However, this time last year, 1323 homes were taken to auction across the city, and a final clearance rate of 73.4 per cent was reported.
In Sydney, 690 auctions were held, representing a 14.8 per cent increase from the previous week.
Of the 545 results collected so far, 78 per cent were successful, marking the highest preliminary clearance rate since mid-February 2022.
The withdrawal rate fell to 10.6 per cent, while the portion of properties passed in at auction dropped to 11.4 per cent, its lowest rate since October 2021.
Adelaide recorded the highest preliminary clearance rate among the smaller capitals, with 68.7 per cent of auctions reporting a successful result.
Canberra and Brisbane followed with 65.6 per cent and 62.5 per cent, respectively.
Brisbane was the busiest among the smaller capitals, with 124 homes going under the hammer, followed by Adelaide with 107 and Canberra with 98.
The clearance rates remain higher compared to late 2022, which ranged from low-to-mid 50 per cent.
The number of capital city auctions is expected to increase next week, with around 2500 homes scheduled to go under the hammer, providing further insights into the market’s depth.
Domain
Preliminary figures from Domain recording a 67.6 per cent clearance rate from 1068 reported auctions.
That’s an increase on the previous week when the clearance rate was 62.8 per cent from 1102 reported auctions.
In all, $652.1 million worth of residential property sold on the weekend, up from $640.1 million the week prior.
The most expensive auction on the weekend, according to Domain, was the sale of a stunning three-bedroom at 1601/21 Cadigal Ave, Pyrmont, for $7.15 million.
The luxury apartment boasts sweeping Sydney Harbour, bridge and city views.
In contrast, the cheapest auction title went to a one-bedroom unit in Brunswick West, in Melbourne, with a $300,000 sale price.
Ray White Group
The Ray White Group reported a 75 per cent clearance rate for its Saturday auctions and a 69.4 per cent clearance rate for the week – the highest since May 2022.
The number of auctions scheduled also climbed to its highest level this year at 518, but this figure is 25 per cent down on the same time last year.
The group said properties that sold at auction achieved a sale price 11.7 per cent higher than the highest offer made prior to auction.
The top sale on Saturday was a Queenslander in Clayfield sold by Ray White New Farm agent Tom Lyne and principal Matt Lancashire.
The six-bedroom home, complete with a tennis court, sold for $6.2 million to a family looking to upsize.
“The house itself, a Queenslander with a tennis court, was immaculately presented. It’s a trophy house and an aspirational purchase,” Mr Lyne said.
“The reason we had the interest we did was because it’s a turnkey property. You can walk in and enjoy it from day one and nothing needs to be done.
“We had really good interest both from local buyers and interstate buyers. It was a local family who bought it, they’re upgrading and wanted to be close to some of the local schools. The sellers were downsizing.”
Ray White Queensland Chief Auctioneer Gavin Croft said there had been some behavioural changes at auctions at the start of this year.
“To see examples of buyers opening up bidding above reserve, it tells you that there’s a sentiment change in the market,” Mr Croft said.
“We’ve had some unbelievable energy in the marketplace. Some real positive signs for Brisbane early in the year and it will be interesting to see how long the energy will last for.
Meanwhile, Tan Nguyen, from Ray White Thomastown in Melbourne, had the highest number of registered bidders for the day.
Mr Nguyen and co-agent Tony Alessandrino sold 3 Loddon Crt, Thomastown, for $840,000 to a family home buyer and had 29 buyers registered for the auction after 160 inspections in just four weeks.
Ray White Victoria Chief Auctioneer Jeremy Tyrrell said the real estate market withstood the cool change sweeping across Melbourne as there was plenty of heated competition with some extraordinary results.
“Location, quality, presentation, value and fair seller expectations were still the motivating ingredients to fuel buyer interest today,” Mr Tyrrell said.
“From 131 scheduled auctions, preliminary results show a strong auction clearance rate of 75 per cent, with buyer interest remaining consistent at 4.4 on average in attendance and 3.1 active bidders. These are some of the highest numbers of bidders we’ve seen since the middle of 2022.
“Another encouraging sign was the sale price versus reserve price jumping up to 6.5 per cent on average, compared to 4.7 per cent and 3.8 per cent for the last two weeks respectively.
“While there appears to be a trend emerging where owners are opting not to auction, the data and results suggest this could cost vendors a significant amount, especially where the supply of property on the market has dropped and buyer demand remains high.
“The competition created under auction conditions continues to produce strong results in a transparent forum.”
