Clearance rates improve markedly across the country
Auction numbers were weaker last week but clearance rates jumped above 50 per cent, with Melbourne leading the way.
THE national auction clearance rate improved last week despite volume declining, according to the latest property research.
Leading data analysts Cotality said auction activity declined last week, with the number of auctions falling by 8.7 per cent to 1318, which was also eight per cent lower than the corresponding week a year ago.
But Cotality added that the combined capitals preliminary clearance rate rose to 54.8 per cent, the highest in seven weeks and the first time above 50 per cent in three weeks, up from 49.8 per cent the week before.
Across the combined capital cities, Melbourne accounted for the largest proportion of auction volume, with 585 homes brought to market.
While this represented a modest 0.3 per cent increase on the week prior, it was 6.8 per cent below its level a year earlier.
The preliminary clearance rate in Melbourne strengthened to 56.2 per cent, up from 54.5 per cent two weeks prior, representing the highest early result in four weeks.
Sydney saw the largest move in clearance rates, with the preliminary reading up to 57.5 per cent.
“That was its highest in 10 weeks and well above the 47.3 per cent low three weeks ago. That said, volumes fell sharply to 452 auctions, down 18.7 per cent both on the week and on a year ago,” Cotality said.
Brisbane showed the most improvement among the mid-tier markets.
There were 128 auctions, up 7.6 per cent from the previous week and 25.5 per cent higher than a year ago.
The preliminary clearance rate rose to 43 per cent, up from a very weak 23.8 per cent the week before.
Similarly, there was a sharp lift in Adelaide’s preliminary clearance rate, which rose to 59.1 per cent from 45.7 per cent a week earlier. However, the auction volume fell 25.9 per cent to 83.
Among the smaller capitals, Canberra held 60 auctions, down 4.8 per cent from the previous week and unchanged from the same week last year, with a preliminary clearance rate of 44.9 per cent.
Auction activity remained minimal in other regions, with eight auctions in Perth and two in Tasmania.
