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Auction results from the weekend suggest Melbourne’s market may have peaked, while Sydney continues to charge upwards.
According to results from Australian Property Monitors, Sydney managed to keep the clearance rate above 80 per cent for the ninth week in a row. said senior economist Dr Andrew Wilson.
“Saturday’s 83.3 per cent clearance rate reflects continued strong competition for properties amongst buyers, which has shown no sign of waning over the past nine weekends since the auction season began.
“Auction numbers are set to rise over the next two weekends to unprecedented levels for the Sydney market and are likely to exceed the record 'Super Saturday' auctions of last December. It will be remarkable given this tidal wave of home auctions if clearance rates continue to hold above 80 per cent,” Dr Wilson said.
Clearance rates are expected to fall in the same way they did in December 2013, when the auction market struggled to absorb unprecedented stock numbers.
The story wasn’t the same for Melbourne, with 71.5 per cent of properties selling over the weekend, one of the lowest results of the year.
“With the exception of the Labour Day holiday weekend this was the lowest result for the market so far this year and is perhaps unsurprising given the high number of auction listings,” Dr Wilson said.
“This weekend’s result was well below the 73.9 per cent average recorded over the past nine weeks since the season began in February, and presents the first sign of a waning in this year’s solid buyer activity so far.
“The market will continue to be sternly tested over coming weekends with a surge in auctions scheduled before the Easter break. Although the pre-Easter rush is typical, there may also be sense from sellers that the market may be peaking, which is pushing listing numbers to near-record levels for this time of the year.”
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