More houses coming on to the market

INCREASED auction numbers failed to translate to sales, with clearance rates showing a small drop nationally last week.

Property data firm Cotality said preliminary results came in at 52.4 per cent for the combined capital cities, lower than the previous week’s 53.2 per cent.

The softer result followed a brief improvement through mid-August, when preliminary clearance rates rose above the 55 per cent mark over the weeks ending August 9 and August 16, according to Cotality.

The lower preliminary clearance rate occurred alongside increased auction activity last week.

A total of 1482 capital city homes went to auction, up 6.6 per cent from the previous week.

Cotality said auction volumes are expected to continue rising as the weather improves, with approximately 1500 homes scheduled for the first week of spring and over 1600 the following week.

“This seasonal increase will test buyer demand, though activity is unlikely to match last year’s levels,” Cotality said.

Auction volumes remain well below last year’s levels, down 32.3 per cent compared to the same week last year.

This softer trend defined much of this winter’s auction market, with capital city volumes ending the season about 18 per cent lower than winter 2022.

The annual decline was concentrated in the largest markets, with winter volumes down approximately 25 per cent in Sydney, 19 per cent in Melbourne and 14 per cent in the ACT.

In contrast, Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane saw increases of 20 per cent, 6.9 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively.

In Melbourne, 653 homes went under the hammer, the highest of any capital city last week, up 9.9 per cent from the week prior, though almost 40 per cent fewer than a year ago.

The preliminary clearance rate eased for a third week in a row to 54.9 per cent, down from 55.4 per cent the previous week, and that was below the recent peak of 60.8 per cent recorded over the week ending August 9.

Cotality said Sydney’s preliminary clearance rate has remained above 55 per cent for four consecutive weeks, easing slightly to 56.3 per cent from 56.6 per cent.

The city held 516 auctions, the second-highest among the capitals, up 8.2 per cent from the previous week but 36.3 per cent lower than a year ago.

Among the smaller capital cities, Brisbane again had the most volume, with 149 homes taken to auction, 1.3 per cent down on the previous week and 21.1 per cent up on the same week last year.

The preliminary clearance rate fell to 31.5 per cent, down 8.9 percentage points from 40.4 per cent the previous week and the lowest early result since the first week of July.

Adelaide’s preliminary clearance rate was 50.8 per cent, a decrease of 4.1 percentage points from the previous week, Cotality said.

Auction volumes in the city increased by 16.7 per cent from the previous week to 105, which is 1.9 per cent higher than a year ago.

The smaller markets held few auctions, in the ACT 48 auctions took place, down by 27 per cent from the previous week and 24 per cent from a year ago, though its preliminary clearance rate edged up 30 basis points to 41.7 per cent.

Perth held nine auctions and only two auctions took place in Tasmania.