Auction clearance rate declines nationally
Data firm says 'shortfall was due to fewer new listings coming on to the market and fewer vendors decided to sell by auction'.
A RISE in the number of houses up for auction failed to override a drop in the preliminary auction clearance rate last week.
The clearance rate across the combined capital cities decreased by 4.6 percentage points last week to 54 per cent, following two consecutive weeks of increases, according to property data firm Cotality.
This decline coincided with a 15.6 per cent rise in auction volumes and deteriorating interest rate expectations prior to the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy board meeting on September 29.
Despite the decrease, auction markets remained above the winter average of a 52.3 per cent preliminary clearance rate, Cotality added.
Auction volumes had, for the sixth week in a row, fallen by more than 30 per cent compared to the same time last year.
Cotality said this shortfall was due to fewer new listings coming on to the market in the spring and also because fewer vendors decided to sell by auction, since clearance rates have been low and there are few registered bidders.
Melbourne held 900 auctions, almost half (49 per cent) of all capital city auctions, up 26.8 per cent from the previous week.
Its preliminary clearance rate slumped seven percentage points to 56.3 per cent, the weakest in three weeks.
Auction volumes are set to fall sharply this week, with around 280 currently scheduled because of the AFL Grand Final long weekend.
Across Sydney, 577 homes went to auction, a 5.3 per cent rise in auction volumes on the week, though that was 36.9 per cent fewer than a year ago.
Auction activity is expected to rise sharply this week, with about 935 homes currently scheduled to go under the hammer.
If all the scheduled auctions proceed, it would be the highest weekly auction volume since late May, when 977 were held.
The preliminary clearance rate was 54.2 per cent, down 5.4 percentage points on the previous week and the lowest early success rate in seven weeks, Cotality said.
In Brisbane, the preliminary clearance rate was 37.5 per cent, a decline of 4.1 percentage points from the previous week and closely aligned with the winter average of 37.2 per cent.
Auction volumes rose three per cent to 174, up 1.8 per cent from the same week last year.
Adelaide experienced a significant 43 per cent increase in auction volumes, reaching 113 auctions.
The preliminary clearance rate also improved, rising by 2.6 percentage points to 58.2 per cent, the city’s strongest early result in five weeks.
In Canberra, Cotality said 58 auctions were held, consistent with the previous week but 44 per cent lower than the corresponding week last year.
The preliminary clearance rate increased by 10.6 percentage points to 57.5 per cent, positioning it 12.1 percentage points above the winter average of 45.4 per cent.
Ten auctions were held in Perth, half of them reporting a successful result so far, while Tasmania had none.
