Auction volumes fall, clearances hold

According to property research group CoreLogic, there were 1,456 properties taken to auction across the combined capital cities in the week ending 8 March, down significantly from 3,026 taken the previous week.

CoreLogic attributes the sharp decline in volumes to the fact that four of the eight states and territories had a public holiday on Monday 9 March.

While volumes fell significantly week-on-week, the preliminary clearance rate across the combined capital cities for the week held strong at 74.8 per cent, following on from the week before, which had a final clearance rate of 73.9 per cent.

The results are also an improvement on those of the same week last year, which saw 1,197 homes sent to auction, and only 47.8 per cent of those achieve a result.

Sydney saw 811 properties go under the hammer throughout the week ending 8 March 2020, with a preliminary clearance rate of 82.6 per cent, the highest clearance of all the capital cities.

This compares to the previous week, which achieved a final clearance rate of 76.6 per cent across 1,087 auctions.

Melbourn saw both auction volumes and clearance rates plummet over the week, with 404 homes taken to auction, and a preliminary clearance rate of just 68.6 per cent, compared to a final result of 74.8 per cent across 1,612 auctions the previous week.

Adelaide’s 63 auctions saw a clearance rate of 63.8 per cent, while Brisbane only saw 53.2 per cent of its 94 auctions achieve a result throughout the week.

In Perth, 37 homes went to auction, with 58.3 per cent selling under the hammer, compared to the same week last year, in which 50 homes went to auction, and only 29.5 per cent managed to sell.

[Related: Coronavirus could curb property price growth]

Hannah Dowling is a journalist for mortgage business, the leading source of news, opinion and strategy for professionals working in the mortgage industry.

Prior to joining the team at Mortgage Business, Hannah worked as a content producer for a podcast catering to property investors. She also spent 6 years working in the real estate sector at a local agency. 

Hannah graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Media and Journalism. 

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