Auction season peaks with lower clearance rates
Busiest auction weekend of the spring selling season but sellers' unmatched expectations resulted in lower clearance rates compared to November in 2023.
THE spring property selling rush looks to have passed its peak with sales figures down on the same period in 2023.
CoreLogic reported 2,882 auctions over the weekend, which was the busiest since the week leading into Easter when 3,135 auctions took place, according to head of research Tim Lawless.
“This might mark the peak of the auction season,” he said.
“With around 2,600 auctions going to market next week, stepping up to approximately 2,700 the week after.
“The combined capitals preliminary clearance rate slipped a little, coming in at 64.1% compared to 65.8% the week prior.
“This was the third lowest preliminary clearance rate of the year to-date.
Ray White also highlighted the boom in auctions over the weekend which ‘marked the end of the largest auction week of the year so far.’
It had 946 auctions booked across the country, with 510 scheduled for Saturday.
Ray White’s preliminary clearance rate was of 72 per cent, up on the previous last Saturday’s clearance rate of 65 per cent.
There was an average of 3.7 registered bidders per auction, with 2.6 actively participating in bidding.
The city with the highest clearance rate was Adelaide, coming in with a 94 per cent clearance rate, followed by Melbourne which reported at 75 per cent clearance.
On average, sellers achieved 11 per cent more on auction day than if they had taken the highest offer prior to auction.
While clearance is down on November 23, it is expected, given the choice available to buyers,” according to Ray White NSW and ACT head of auctions Perry Edmondson-Clark.
“We continue to see some sales not eventuating, as there is a gap between buyer and seller that cannot be bridged, often due to an inflated seller expectation.”
But the auctioneering chief urged prospective buyers to get their skates on if they want to be in before Christmas.
“We continue to hear buyers talk about their desire to purchase before Christmas,” he said.
“With a small period of time left to launch, if you are considering a sale, the next 7-10 days are critical to get your property online if you wish to sell before the break.”
