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How floods impacted this week’s auctions

Just days after floods impacted both south east Queensland and New South Wales, the first set of property market data is in, with auction clearance rates and withdrawals offering an insight into the impact of the recent severe weather.

CoreLogic noted despite flooding events in Brisbane and Sydney, auction withdrawal rates were relatively low.

Their data indicates 18 per cent of auctions were withdrawn in Brisbane compared to a year-to-date average of 11 per cent, while in Sydney 16 per cent of auctions were withdrawn, compared with a year-to-date average of 12 per cent.

In Brisbane, 180 properties proceeded to auction, resulting in a preliminary clearance rate of 69.8 per cent.

Both the volume and clearance rate in Brisbane were slightly lower than last week, when 223 auctions were held and the preliminary clearance rate sat at 72.7 per cent.

Sydney’s volume and preliminary clearance rate was also down slightly on last week.

This week the harbour city was host to 933 auctions and returned a preliminary clearance rate of 74.6 per cent, while last week, 1209 homes were taken to auction across the city and the preliminary clearance rate was 76.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, Ray White Queensland Chief Auctioneer Gavin Croft noted the energy and resilience in the Queensland market remained high, despite limited stock available in Brisbane.

This week the Ray White Group was slated to host 68 auctions in Brisbane, but many sold prior or were postponed.

In total 20 per cent of the auctions scheduled in Queensland were postponed compared to an average of 4 per cent, according to Ray White data.

However, they said those who proceeded to auction were rewarded with an average of 6.6 registered bidders per property and strong results under the hammer in Brisbane.

Personally, Mr Croft noted 90 per cent of his auctions booked for Saturday sold prior.

“Off the back of the flooding, it sent a touch of nerves through some sellers. Quite a number of them chose to sell prior,” Mr Croft said.

“However, the one auction I did call for Ray White Beenleigh today had five registered bidders and sold for $515,000 to a local investor, with the underbidder being a Sydney buyer.

“Despite the floods, we are still seeing really high energy and resilience in the Queensland market.”

On Monday, 7 March the Ray White group is hosting a live webinar to provide guidance on the impacts on the property markets in south east Queensland and parts of NSW.

“There are so many factors to consider – implications on insurance, current listings, property management and keeping tenants safe, insurance and security of assets, impacts on house and rental prices, and wider costs to the community, including the psychological toll of natural disasters and human resilience,” the group stated.

Hosted by Ray White Queensland CEO, Jason Andrew, the event will also feature Ray White Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee and CEO of Concierge, Kelly Tatlow along with business owners from southeast Queensland and New South Wales flood-affected regions.

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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”.