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Auction volumes rise above the 2000 mark

Auction volumes have risen above the 2000 mark for just the third time since June but still remain well below the number of properties going under the hammer this time last year.

CoreLogic reported 2155 auctions were held across the combined capital cities this week, to return a preliminary clearance rate of 62.7 per cent.

This volume is 23.8 per cent higher than last week, but still 28.6 per cent lower than the same time last year when 3019 auctions occurred.

With 1785 results collected so far, this week’s clearance rate is 1.3 percentage points higher than last week’s initial success rate, which revised down to 59.8 per cent at final figures.

This time last year, 78.9 per cent of reported auctions were successful.

Melbourne

There were 1141 homes taken to auction in Melbourne this week, making it the busiest auction week the city has seen since the week ending 19 June.

The rise in volume was attributed to the city gearing up to celebrate the Melbourne Cup carnival which begins next weekend.

The previous week saw 690 homes taken to auction across the city, while this time last year, 1467 auctions were held.

Of the 968 results collected so far, 64.6 per cent were successful.

This initial success rate is 80 basis points higher than last week’s preliminary result of 63.8 per cent, which revised down to 60.1 per cent at final figures.

“Melbourne’s final clearance rate has held above 60 per cent for the past seven weeks, and this week will likely be no different,” CoreLogic noted.

Sydney

There were 639 auctions in Sydney this week, down 3.8 per cent from the previous week (664), and also 34.4 per cent lower than this time last year when 974 auctions were held across the city.

With 542 results collected so far, 61.6 per cent were successful, down just 10 basis points from last week’s preliminary clearance rate of 61.7 per cent, which revised down to 61.2 per cent at final figures.

This time last year, 78.5 per cent of homes taken to auction across Sydney were successful.

The smaller capitals

Across the smaller capital cities, Brisbane was the busiest auction market this week, with 148 homes taken to auction across the city, followed by Adelaide (131) and Canberra (83).

There were 12 auctions held in Perth this week, and just one in Tasmania.

Adelaide has recorded the strongest preliminary clearance rate so far (75.3 per cent), followed by Canberra (57.6 per cent) and Brisbane (48.6 per cent).

In Perth, just one of the eight auctions collected so far was successful.

Source: CoreLogic

Domain results

Domain has reported a preliminary clearance rate of 63.9 per cent after tracking 1844 auctions across the major capitals.

So far, results are in for 1315 of those auctions, with 840 properties selling (to the value of $682.9 million), while 183 properties were withdrawn.

Last week, the final clearance rate was 60.3 per cent after 1431 auctions took place.

Results were provided for 1235 of those auctions, with 745 properties selling (to the value of $647.3 million), while 153 properties were withdrawn.

This time last year, the clearance rate was 73.6 per cent after 1942 auctions occurred.

Results were provided for 1857 of those auctions, with 1366 properties selling (to the value of $2004.4 million), while 234 properties were withdrawn.

Sydney

Sydney’s preliminary clearance rate is sitting at 62.2 per cent after 555 auctions took place across the harbour city.

So far, results are in for 362 of those auctions, with 225 properties selling (to the value of $212.6 million), while 91 properties were withdrawn.

Last week, 575 auctions were scheduled in Sydney, resulting in a final clearance rate of 60.9 per cent.

Results were provided for 463 of those auctions, with 282 properties selling (to the value of $296.5 million), while 76 properties were withdrawn.

This time last year, Sydney’s final clearance rate was 74.1 per cent after 693 auctions took place.

Results were provided for 649 of those auctions, with 481 properties selling (to the value of $996.8 million), while 76 properties were withdrawn.

Melbourne

There were 1050 auctions in Melbourne this week, resulting in a preliminary clearance rate of 64.5 per cent.

At this stage, results have been reported for 825 of those auctions, with 532 properties selling (to the value of $417.3 million), while 83 properties have been withdrawn.

Last week, Melbourne’s final clearance rate was 60.7 per cent after 623 auctions took place.

Results were provided for 562 of those auctions, with 341 properties selling (to the value of $262.9 million), while 63 properties were withdrawn.

This time last year, Melbourne’s final clearance rate was 74.5 per cent after 916 auctions occurred.

Results were provided for 889 of those auctions, with 662 properties selling (to the value of $756.6 million), while 137 properties were withdrawn.

Source: Domain

Ray White results

Grey skies and wet weather didn’t deter enthusiastic buyers, according to the Ray White Group, who hosted 330 auctions across the country on Saturday.

They noted Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide all recorded auctions with registered bidders in the double digits on Saturday, while the real estate group recorded an average of 4.2 registered bidders nationally.

The standout auction for bidder numbers was 34 Wallace Street, Glenelg East, which recorded 19 registered bidders and sold for $2.17 million.

The top sale of the day went to a rural property at 970 Tabulam Road, Tabulam, NSW which sold under the hammer for $3.35 million.

The Ray White group reported a preliminary auction day clearance rate of 65 per cent.

“Ray White’s weekly auction volume has been steady for the last few months in the high 500s but next week it jumps to 718, the highest since May,” they stated.

“Some 2566 auctions were scheduled in October, which is the second largest October on record.”

Sydney

Ray White NSW chief auctioneer Alex Pattaro said confidence was returning to the market.

“There’s been a positive number of registered bidders across our Sydney auctions, this shows positive signs for the future of the market,” Mr Pattaro said.

“Stock levels remain low compared to last year which makes it a great time to sell as there’s less competition in the marketplace.

“With an increase in bidding registrations now is the best time to obtain a premium result.”

Melbourne

Ray White Victoria CEO Stephen Dullens said terrible weather across Victoria didn’t dampen the real estate activity across Melbourne.

He said the number of auctions continued to increase with Saturday declared a “Super Saturday”.

“While it was a challenging day weather-wise, that certainly didn’t stop the auction action across Melbourne this weekend,” he said.

“With the unofficial long Melbourne Cup long weekend next week, Ray White had almost 200 auctions scheduled this week.”

While the weather and increased volume tested the depth of buyers, strong results continued to be achieved.

“Despite the large volume of auctions, preliminary results this week show we’ve averaged 3.6 committed bidders and 2.5 active bidders per auction – very similar levels to previous weeks,” Mr Dullens said.

“This reminds us that demand for quality property that is well priced continues to be high.”

Brisbane

Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer Gavin Croft said the auction process was the most efficient way to sell property in the current market.

“It was a rainy day here in Brisbane, and while we’re seeing softer auction volumes across Brisbane this week, what we’ve also seen is a really nice bounce in clearance rates and average registered bidders,” he said.

“The recent data is telling us it’s 40-50 per cent more efficient to sell by auction versus private treaty.

“In many auction dominated markets we’re seeing an average of 17 days on market for auctions, whereas in the same area sellers who are choosing to sell via private treaty are seeing 50 days or more. It’s an extraordinary fact, but it’s a reality.

“In a market being impacted by rising interest rates, the ability to identify true market value soon rather than later is imperative for sellers who want to make more money in today’s market. Auctions are providing this, and sellers are being rewarded.”

Adelaide

Ray White South Australia chief auctioneer John Morris said the threat of a thunderstorm wasn’t dampening the spirit of buyers in Adelaide on Saturday.

“We entered the weekend with 78 per cent clearance and, from what I’m hearing, there’s still a lot of buyer activity and almost 100 per cent of the properties auctioned this Saturday have sold under auction conditions,” Mr Morris said.

“While bidder registrations have dropped from six to about four, bidder activity has risen from 50 per cent of registrations participating in the bidding, to 75 per cent.

“There is still strong buyer activity in and around Adelaide, and good reason for vendors to take their property to auction.”

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Cassandra Charlesworth

Cassandra Charlesworth is a features writer for Elite Agent Magazine with over 15 years’ journalism experience in metropolitan and regional newsrooms. She has a specialist interest in real estate, tech disruption and a good old-fashioned “yarn”.