2021 becomes the biggest auction year on record

In the week ending 19 December there were 4,756 homes taken to auction across the combined capital cities, making 2021 the busiest auction year to date, according to property data, information, analytics and services provider CoreLogic.

The previous record was set in 2017, when 109,268 capital city auctions were held, according to CoreLogic.

This calendar year has been a particularly popular one for homebuyers, with a combination of record low interest rates, government incentives and movement restrictions culminating in strong demand for property.

Indeed, last week was not only the second busiest auction week on CoreLogic records (according to preliminary figures), but also marked the fourth consecutive week where more than 4,000 capital city homes have been taken to auction. This is the first time that such a long run has been achieved.

The previous week saw 4,981 homes taken to auction, while this time last year, 2,331 auctions were held.

Despite the higher volumes over recent months, however, the preliminary clearance rate continues to trend lower. 

The CoreLogic data showed that – of the 3,838 results collected so far – less than two-thirds ( 63.4 per cent) were successful, down from the previous week when a preliminary clearance rate of 66.6 per cent was recorded (later revising down to a final clearance rate of 64.0 per cent).

This time last year 69.8 per cent of reported auctions were successful.

According to CoreLogic, auction activity is set to slow sharply this week, with only around 600 auctions scheduled across the capital cities.

The company noted that this week’s scheduled auctions were still “remarkably higher than average for the lead into Christmas” and suggested that the 2022 auction season could start earlier than usual (typically early February), “if the December momentum carries through to 2022”. 

Melbourne was the busiest auction market, with 2,140 homes taken to auction, followed by Sydney (1,631 auctions). Both capital cities achieved their second busiest auction week on record.

Across the smaller auction markets, Brisbane (351), Adelaide (345) and Canberra (254) all set their busiest auction week since records commenced in 2008. 

In Tasmania, two of the three auction results have been collected so far, with both of them reported as withdrawn.

[Related: Auctions skyrocket to reach new record: CoreLogic]