2020 ends on an auction high

The week ending 13 December 2020 saw a total of 2,580 homes taken to market, up from preliminary figures.

According to CoreLogic, historically, auction activity starts to taper off dramatically after the second week of December as market activity slows in the lead up to Christmas. However, this week, ending 20 December, has a total of 2,347 homes scheduled for auction. Over the same week last year, a much lower 909 homes were taken to auction across the capital cities.

Just over half of all scheduled activity this week is in Melbourne, with 1,193 homes scheduled for auction, increasing on the 1,163 last week and the 470 last year.

Meanwhile, Sydney has a lower 763 auctions scheduled over the week after the 1,009 auctions held last week. One year ago, 248 Sydney homes were auctioned over the same week.

Across the smaller cities, scheduled volumes are set to be higher in Adelaide (136), while the remaining cities all have fewer auctions scheduled week-on-week, with Brisbane at 129 homes, Canberra at 106 homes and Perth at 18 homes.

Final figures for week ending 13 December

CoreLogic has also issued  the final capital city auction clearance rates for the week ending 13 December.

Higher volumes were reported than expected, with 2,580 capital city homes taken to auction, up from the 2,537 homes reported in the preliminary results last week.

The week returned a final auction clearance rate of 71.1 per cent. This was higher than the 69.9 per cent final clearance rate achieved over the week prior, when 2,085 auctions were held. Over the same week last year, 2,804 properties were auctioned with 64.9 per cent recording a successful result.

In Melbourne, 1,167 auctions were held across the city with a final auction clearance rate of 69.7 per cent. This was an improvement on the 67.7 per cent clearance rate over the week prior when a lower 899 auctions took place. One year ago, 1,405 auctions were held across Melbourne recording a final success rate of 69.3 per cent.

Sydney’s final auction clearance rate came in at 73.1 per cent for the week ending 13 December, as volumes rose. This was the eighth consecutive week the city recorded a clearance rate over 70 per cent.

It was tested against higher volumes with 1,009 auctions held, the highest volume seen since early April. Indeed, in the same week in 2019, 68.8 per cent of Sydney homes sold from 875 auctions.

Across the smaller cities, Canberra was the standout performer over the second half of 2020, consistently achieving clearance rates between the 70-90 per cent range. The week ending 13 December was no different, with the city recording a final auction clearance rate of 87.1 per cent.

Adelaide and Brisbane recorded higher clearance rates over the week of 72.2 per cent and 59.9 per cent, respectively, while Perth recorded a lower 55.3 per cent final clearance rate over the week.

CoreLogic’s summary of auction activities will recommence in February 2021, pending volumes.

[Related: Auction activity holds strong]