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Simon Parker
Auction clearance rates eased slightly last week in the major capital cities, new data shows.
In Sydney, the clearance rate came in at 57 per cent for last week based on 442 reported auctions, propertydata.com.au reported. This was down slightly on the previous week’s results, which came in at 62 per cent.
Australian Property Monitors (APM) reported a similar result for Saturday, showing a 54 per cent clearance rate in Sydney on 363 reported auctions.
“This week we have again seen strong auctions results across New South Wales,” said Real Estate Institute of NSW CEO, Tim McKibbin. “With many vendors keen to get their properties sold before Christmas, it is likely that the property market will end the year on the positive note. This is pleasing to see, and we are confident that these results will carry over into the New Year, generating increased confidence from buyers and healthy competition in the market.”
In Melbourne, propertydata.com.au reported a 60 per cent clearance rate for the weekend, based on 853 reported auctions, down slightly on last week's result of 61 per cent. A similar clearance rate result – 59 per cent – was reported by APM.
REIV CEO Enzo Raimondo said November had been a good month for auctions in Melbourne.
“There were 2,792 auctions in November, which was 11 per cent lower than the 3154 held in October,” he said.
“The difference was due to the Melbourne Cup carnival. The clearance rate was 61 per cent for the month which is in line with the year to date trend. November was the fourth consecutive month with a clearance rate in excess of 60 per cent.”
“The REIV expects about 970 auctions next weekend.”
In south east Queensland, independent auctioneers Jason Andrew Group (JA) reported a 45 per cent clearance rate.
The company, which handles around 20 per cent of auctions in the region, said the number of registered buyers at auction rose to an average of 1.29 compared to the previous week’s result of 1.07, while the number of registered bidders making a bid fell marginally from 61 per cent to 57 per cent.
Crowd numbers increased, with an average of 14.6 in attendance at each auction, up from 11.5 the previous week.
Director Jason Andrew said the spurt of buyer enthusiasm recorded in winter had failed to translate to the widely anticipated spring selling season.
“Buyer activity simply couldn’t keep up with the influx of new properties – spring average bidder registrations fell from 1.51 in winter to 1.41 in spring,” Mr Andrew said. “Compounding the issue was the number of vendors who mistakenly believed a market recovery was taking place and that prices were on the rise. Highly attached to inflated price expectations, many of these vendors were unwilling to shift to meet the market.”
“Despite many optimistic reports about the state of the market, the numbers are very clear – the spring clearance result was 45 per cent, a full 12 per cent lower than the winter result of 52 per cent.”
“With plenty of uncertainty still in the air, we would encourage vendors who are serious about selling to ensure they have access to enough market information to develop realistic price expectations. Buyers in the current market are on the whole unprepared to pay a premium.”
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