Every capital has reported a preliminary clearance rate of above 80 per cent this week as auction volumes rise across the country.
CoreLogic notes 2727 properties taken to auction across the combined capital cities, resulting in a national preliminary clearance rate of 83.3 per cent.
This week’s volume compares to 1986 properties taken to auction last week and 1084 auctions this time last year, with this week usurping last to prove the busiest auction week since mid-July.
“With 2244 results collected, so far 83.3 per cent were successful, marking the third consecutive week CoreLogic has recorded a preliminary combined capital city clearance rate in the 80s,” CoreLogic said.
Last week, the preliminary clearance rate was 84.4 per cent, revising to 83.2 per cent at final collection, while this time last year 66.4 per cent of auctions held were successful.
| Location | Clearance rate | Total auctions | Auction results | Sold prior | Sold at auction | Sold after auction | Passed in | W/drawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | 89.74 % | 188 | 117 | 19 | 84 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Brisbane | 81.33 % | 198 | 150 | 36 | 84 | 2 | 22 | 6 |
| Canberra | 93.64 % | 126 | 110 | 35 | 66 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Melbourne | 81.87 % | 1357 | 1114 | 328 | 566 | 18 | 116 | 86 |
| Perth | 81.25 % | 23 | 16 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Sydney | 83.24 % | 832 | 734 | 326 | 276 | 9 | 45 | 78 |
| Tasmania | 100 % | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Weighted Average | 83.35 % | 2727 | 2244 | 751 | 1085 | 33 | 193 | 182 |
Melbourne
Melbourne proved the busiest market with 1357 homes taken to auction across the city, which was up 68.6 per cent on the week prior when 805 properties were auctioned.
“Vendor confidence appears to be returning, with the number of auctions tracking higher along with a sharp reduction in withdrawn auctions,” CoreLogic said.
Of the 1114 auctions results reported so far, 81.9 per cent were successful.
Last week, Melbourne recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 87 per cent, which later revised down to 85.3 per cent at final collection.
Melbourne’s withdrawal rate continues to fall, this week recording a preliminary withdrawal rate of 7.7 per cent.
This is down from a recent peak in late august when 61.6 per cent of auctions were withdrawn amidst the uncertainty of lockdowns and a ban on home inspections.
Of the 912 successful results reported so far, 36 per cent were sold prior to auction.
Sydney
Across Sydney, 832 homes were taken to auction this week, down from the 890 auctions originally scheduled but up from the volumes recorded last week (753) and this time last year (751).
“The trend in Sydney’s auction volumes has returned to the upward trajectory observed since late August following a small dip during last week’s long weekend,” CoreLogic noted.
“Of the 734 results collected so far, 83.2 per cent were reported as successful, continuing Sydney’s streak of 80 per cent plus clearance rates which is now in its seventh consecutive week.”
Last week Sydney reported a preliminary clearance rate of 82.4 per cent, which later revised down to 81.6 per cent at final figures.
Sydney’s withdrawal rate was up slightly this week (10.6 per cent) when compared to last week’s final withdrawal rate (10.3 per cent).
“With Freedom Day scheduled for Monday, we are likely to see some pent-up supply flowing into the markets as Sydney siders prepare to reopen,” CoreLogic said.
Of the 611 successful results reported so far, 53.4 per cent were sold prior to auction.
The smaller capitals
Across the smaller capital city markets, Canberra reported the highest preliminary clearance rate with 93.6 per cent of auctions returning a successful result. This was the national capital’s highest clearance rate since late-July.
Canberra was followed by Adelaide and Brisbane with preliminary clearance rates of 89.7 per cent and 81.3 per cent respectively.
In Perth, 13 of the 16 auction results collected so far were successful, while in Tasmania all three of the auctions returned a successful result.
Domain results
Domain reported a national preliminary clearance rate of 80.1 per cent after 1858 properties were taken to auction.
So far, results are in for 1344 of those auctions, with 1076 properties selling (to the value of $963.5 million), while 148 properties were withdrawn.
Last week, Domain’s final clearance rate settled at 79.3 per cent after 1255 properties were taken to auction.
Results were provided for 1047 of those auctions, with 830 properties selling (to the value of $708.7 million), while 88 properties were withdrawn.
This time last year, the clearance rate was 65.5 per cent after just 922 properties were taken to auction.
Results were provided for 859 of those properties, with 563 properties selling (to the value of $757 million), while 108 properties were withdrawn.
Sydney
Sydney’s preliminary clearance rate was 85.5 per cent, after 611 properties were taken to auction.
So far, results have been provided for 441 of those auctions, with 377 properties selling (to the value of $416.6 million), while 47 properties were withdrawn.
Last week, Sydney’s final clearance rate was 81.3 per cent after 456 properties were taken to auction across the long weekend.
Results were provided for 396 of those properties, with 322 properties selling (to the value of $355.9 million), while 36 properties were withdrawn.
This time last year, Sydney’s clearance rate was 66.4 per cent after 705 properties were taken to auction.
Results were provided for 660 of those properties with 438 selling (to the value of $655 million), while 96 were withdrawn.
Melbourne
Melbourne saw another rise in auction volume this week with 932 properties taken to auction, resulting in a preliminary clearance rate of 74.3 per cent.
So far, results are in for 686 of those auctions, with 510 properties selling (to the value of $396.2 million), while 89 properties were withdrawn.
Last week, Melbourne’s final clearance rate was 77.4 per cent after 571 properties were taken to auction.
Results were provided for 452 of those auctions, with 350 properties selling (to the value of $242.3 million), while 43 properties were withdrawn.
This time last year, Melbourne’s clearance rate was 56.3 per cent after only 43 properties were taken to auction.
Results were provided for 32 of those auctions, with 18 properties selling (to the value of $13 million), while six properties were withdrawn.
Ray White results
The Ray White group noted confidence in the auction market continued to be strong, with the group recording a preliminary auction day clearance rate of 85 per cent across the country on Saturday.
While Brisbane produced the top sale and the top number of bidders for the day, the standout city was Adelaide, recording a 94.4 per cent clearance rate.
Of the 311 scheduled Ray White auctions for Saturday, 141 proceeded to auction, with 67 selling prior and 22 postponed to a later date.
Average registered bidders sat at 7.7 nationally. Notably, an auction in Brisbane had 47 registered bidders, demonstrating the intense buyer demand in the River City.
Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said Australian house prices are, on average, the highest they’ve ever been.
“What has been interesting this cycle is how consistent across the country increases have been,” Ms Conisbee said.
“Topping the list in dollar terms are Sydney’s eastern suburbs where the median has increased by nearly $1 million since the start of the pandemic.
“However, in percentage terms, the Far West and Orana region of New South Wales, which includes Dubbo and Broken Hill, has achieved the highest increase of 57 per cent.
“Capital city and regional areas have all seen prices take off.”
New South Wales
Ray White NSW chief auctioneer Alex Pattaro said the market was still incredibly strong in New South Wales.
“We continue to see incredible confidence within the market with an abundance of buyers all looking to secure a home before the end of the year,” Mr Pattaro said.
“A personal best trading month in September for Ray White NSW and ACT suggests there were plenty of opportunities for buyers and sellers.
“Sellers who were looking to transact within the market do so with ease, knowing they can obtain a great price for their home and resecure another home.
“The October outlook is strong and we expect it to continue without the remainder of the year.”
Victoria
The Victorian real estate market continues to gather momentum and return to a sense of normality as private inspections are once again permitted across Melbourne.
Ray White Victoria and Tasmania CEO Stephen Dullens discussed the impact this has had on the market, as well as what the coming weeks would look like.
“The last few weeks have seen strong activity from buyers and sellers as they make up for lost time post lockdown restrictions,” Mr Dullens said.
“We know that many customers have been holding off on these big decisions, such as the purchase of a property or getting their property on the market, with the inability to physically inspect property.”
Despite these challenges, Mr Dullens said pent up demand continued to ensure the spring market was well and truly alive.
“Across the last two weeks we’ve seen almost double the number of new listings hit the market compared to lockdown periods in August – showing once again the resilience of the Victorian property market,” he said.
“Despite this, buyer demand continues to outweigh properties available for sale.
“Auction bookings for October and November indicate we’re up for a very busy spring.”
Ray White Victoria chief auctioneer Matt Condon said the state achieved an average of 6.9 registered bidders during Saturday’s auctions.
“This week has seen one of Ray White Victoria’s biggest weeks in auction volume for 2021,” Mr Condon said.
“It’s great to see that this increase in volume was once again met with a higher level of buyer demand.
“Preliminary data from the Ray White Group has revealed a high average of registered and active bidders per auction.
“Results range from entry level real estate to prestige properties with all markets achieving exceptional results.
“Since the commencement of private inspections in Victoria, the real estate market has continued to go from strength to strength.”
Queensland
Ray White New Farm and Bulimba had a hugely successful auction event at the weekend with seven out of nine properties selling through the campaign.
Four properties sold under the hammer on Saturday with three properties selling prior to auction.
Principal and auctioneer at Ray White New Farm, Haesley Cush said the crowd was very welcoming at the auction event.
“They were there to buy and they were happy to buy,” Mr Cush said.
“We’ve got a group of buyers in Brisbane who know they better get their buying done before the borders open.
“Even though we’re still getting a lot of interest from buyers in Sydney and Melbourne, that will increase when borders open.”
Mr Cush said this was Ray White New Farm and Bulimba’s third prestige auction event, and he was very happy with the results.
“This might be our most successful event in terms of clearance rate, registered bidders, and results,” he said.
“We’re in the middle of spring in an exciting Brisbane market!”
Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer Gavin Croft said the market remained strong, although it would be hard to beat last week’s clearance rate of 100 per cent.
“The big influence we continue to see is those southern buyers,” Mr Croft said.
“At our Tugun auctions during the week, where we conducted nine in-room auctions down on the Gold Coast, five of them sold to sight unseen buyers from Sydney.
“It’s a really big factor that’s coming in and playing a role in the energy of the southeast Queensland market.
“The big question coming up to Christmas is, are we going to see the Brisbane and southeast Queensland market continue to go from strength to strength and really solidify itself, potentially becoming the auction capital of Australia?”
South Australia
Ray White South Australia chief auctioneer John Morris said Ray White had called 32 per cent of auctions across the state this week.
“Our preliminary clearance rate so far is 100 per cent, and we have eight registered bidders per auction on average,” Mr Morris said.
“Last week was about the same with a slightly lower clearance rate of 86 per cent.
“The market does not look like it’s slowing down in any way, shape or form.
“If today’s results are anything to go by for what the next weeks and months will be like, every auction I’ve called this week has sold under the hammer very comfortably, with strong bidder registrations and incredible crowds.”
