Sydney stands out despite others falling
Preliminary auction clearance rates nationally failed to hit positive territory week on week, except for Sydney.
SYDNEY provided the small ray of hope amongst a national rate of decline in the auction clearance rate, according to property data firm Cotality.
The preliminary clearance rate across the combined capital cities fell to 53.2 per cent last week, compared to 56.5 per cent two weeks prior.
Sydney was the only capital where the preliminary clearance rate rose over the week, hitting 56.6 per cent, up from 55.6 per cent the previous week.
Cotality said the number of homes taken to auction increased last week, reaching 1406 across the combined capitals, 10.2 per cent above the previous week (1276), though 31.9 per cent short of the 2066 held at the same point a year earlier.
Melbourne held the most auctions, with 600 homes going under the hammer last week, up two per cent on the week prior but 39.1 per cent below the level a year ago.
The preliminary clearance rate fell to 55.4 per cent, the city’s weakest in four weeks.
A total of 482 homes went to auction in Sydney, 17.6 per cent more than the previous week but 33.9 per cent fewer than the same week a year ago, Cotality added.
Despite the weekly improvement, this is the 16th consecutive week that Sydney’s preliminary clearance rate has remained below 60 per cent.
Some 153 homes were taken to auction in Brisbane, up 7.7 per cent from the previous week but 9.5 per cent below the same week a year earlier, with 40.4 per cent reporting a sale on preliminary results.
A total of 92 homes went to auction in Adelaide, up 9.5 per cent on the previous week but 7.1 per cent lower than a year ago.
Of the 92 homes taken to auction, 54.8 per cent were successful on preliminary results.
Cotality said Canberra’s preliminary clearance rate declined to 41.4 per cent, compared to 60 per cent the previous week.
The number of auctions increased to 67 homes, up from 43 the week prior but below the 75 recorded during the same period last year.
In Perth, only 11 auctions were held, with just two resulting in a sale so far. The single auction scheduled in Tasmania was withdrawn.
