Auction numbers climb as restrictions ease

Research from CoreLogic has revealed that there were 867 capital city homes scheduled for auction for the week ending 31 May, with preliminary results returning a 65.9 per cent clearance rate.

According to the CoreLogic Property Market Indicator Summary, the number of auctions held last week was the highest since the week ending 19 April.

The previous week saw 612 homes scheduled for auction and a final clearance rate of 62.7 per cent.

“Although the number of auctions held remains low, since restrictive policies around open homes and onsite auctions were lifted, the trend has been towards more auctions held and a substantial reduction in the proportion of auctions withdrawn prior to the event,” the summary stated.

One year ago, a total of 1,661 homes were taken to auction, with a 58.0 per cent clearance rate.

Among the capital cities, there were 469 auctions held in Sydney with a 68.1 per cent clearance rate, compared with 677 auctions last year and a clearance rate of 61.8 per cent.

Melbourne held only 259 auctions last week but had the highest clearance rate among capital cities of 71.9 per cent. This compares with 730 auctions last year with a clearance rate of 61.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, Perth held 13 auctions but returned a 0.0 per cent clearance rate.

Brisbane held 72 auctions with a clearance rate of 40.9 per cent, while Adelaide held 23 auctions with a 66.7 per cent clearance rate. Canberra held 30 auctions with a 70.8 per cent clearance rate.

The number of new listings across the capital cities have dropped by 23 per cent over the last 12 months, with 16,497 homes advertised for sale.

CoreLogic has calculated results across properties that have been advertised for sale over the 28 days ending 31 May. A new listing is one that has not been previously advertised for sale within 75 days.

Hobart saw a 40.3 per cent drop, with 219 new listings, while Melbourne saw a 21.3 per cent drop, with 4,625 new listings.

New listings declined by 30.2 per cent in Brisbane, 36.9 per cent in Adelaide, 34 per cent in Perth, 38.9 per cent in Darwin, and 29.2 per cent in Canberra.

[Related: COVID-19 curbs Perth housing recovery]

Malavika Santhebennur is the features editor on the mortgages titles at Momentum Media.

Before joining the team in 2019, Malavika held roles with Money Management and Benchmark Media. She has been writing about financial services for the past six years.