Melbourne fades, record Sydney activity

Last weekend 1,153 properties were listed for auction, well up on the previous weekend’s 977 and ahead of the 1,068 auctions conducted over the same weekend last year.

Auctions will surge again this weekend, with 1,123 homes listed to go under the hammer in the metro area. Although it's just below last weekend’s result, it remains well ahead of the 951 auctions conducted over the same weekend last year.

Melbourne’s west will host the most auctions this weekend with 187, closely followed by the inner south with 186, the inner city and inner east, each with 157, the outer east 152, the north east 142, the north 91 and the south east 49.

The outer-east suburb of Glen Waverley tops the list with 22 auctions, followed by Reservoir in the north east with 21 and East Bentleigh in the inner south with 20. Inner-east suburbs Mount Waverley and Glen Iris will host 17 auctions each, while St Kilda, Northcote, Kew and Coburg are among the many suburbs hosting 15 each.

Melbourne recorded another moderate result last Saturday, with growing indications of a sustained weakening in buyer activity.

The weekend result of 72.1 per cent was just above the previous weekend’s 71.6 per cent, which was the lowest clearance rate recorded by the Melbourne market since the first weekend in July.

High levels of auctions are impacting market activity as sellers surge into the late spring market to close off sales before the end-of-year shutdown.

The Melbourne market has resumed after the break for the Cup long weekend with lower clearance rates over the past two weekends. The four-weekend average clearance rate now stands at 73.9 per cent, well down on the previous average of 77.9 per cent. Trend auction activity is clearly declining.

Melbourne’s inner east auction market remains resilient, recording the highest clearance rate of all the regions last weekend with 80.4 per cent from the highest number of sales at 111. Next was the north east with 76.7 per cent, followed by the outer east at 76.3 per cent, the inner south at 73.8 per cent, and the west with a clearance rate of 70.2 per cent.

Melbourne’s economic performance continues to be an underlying drag on local housing market activity. The latest ABS data reports that the unemployment rate fell to 6.5 per cent over October, down from September's 6.8 per cent. Although an improvement, the October rate remains well above the 6.0 per cent recorded over the same month last year.

High auction numbers continue to test the Sydney market, with another weekend of record-level activity.

Record numbers of late spring auctions are impacting results, with buyers increasingly spoilt for choice as sellers surge into the market before the end-of-year shutdown.

November is set to record the highest number of auctions ever conducted in Sydney over a month. November 29th is shaping up to be close to an all-time record day, with more than 1,000 properties scheduled to go under the hammer. This Saturday will see 870 auctions, not far off last weekend’s 875 and well ahead of the 754 listed over the same weekend last year.

The Sydney weekend auction market continues to show signs of weakening, with last weekend recording its second consecutive weekend clearance rate below 80 per cent for the first time this spring. Last weekend’s result of 74.4 per cent follows the previous weekend’s 75.5 per cent, and is the lowest weekend clearance rate recorded by Sydney since the first weekend in July. 

The four-weekend average clearance rate now stands at 77.8 per cent, well down on the 81.3 per cent average recorded over the previous four-weekend period.

Sydney’s city and east suburban region bounced back last weekend, leading clearance rates with 82.3 per cent – this conversely followed the previous weekend’s regional low result. Next best region was Canterbury-Bankstown with 79.4 per cent, followed by the lower north's 78.5 per cent. The inner west, which recorded the most sales at 86, had a clearance rate of 78.2 per cent, the upper north shore 77.3 per cent and the northern beaches 72.1 per cent.

The inner west will again host the most auctions this weekend with 134, followed by the upper north shore with 123, the city and east 110, the south 109, the lower north shore 82, the west 74, Canterbury-Bankstown and the south west 61 and the northern beaches with 53 scheduled.

The most popular suburb for auctions this weekend is Mosman on the lower north shore and Randwick in the east, each with 13 listed. Next highest is Roseville on the upper north shore with 11, followed by Strathfield in the inner west with 10, and nine for each of St Ives on the upper north shore, Ashfield in the inner west, Coogee in the east and Greenacre in Canterbury-Bankstown.

The Sydney local economy continues its solid performance, with the latest ABS data revealing an unemployment rate of 5.2 per cent over October – a drop from the 5.4 per cent recorded over September and down on the 5.6 per cent recorded over October last year. Sydney’s unemployment rate is now the lowest of all state capitals.