Auction rates fall below 79.0 per cent

The property research group’s auctions data for the week ending 23 May has revealed that 2,845 homes went under the hammer last week across the combined capital cities, recording a preliminary clearance rate of 78.2 per cent.

In comparison, there were 2,905 auctions held over the previous week with a preliminary clearance rate of 79.0 per cent (which revised down to 77.0 per cent at final figures), and only 612 auctions this time last year amid onsite auctions and property inspections restrictions to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.

“The final clearance rate has held at or above 77.0 per cent for all but one of the 15 weeks, so it will be interesting to see how the clearance rate holds up as the remaining results are collected over the next few days,” CoreLogic said in its auctions summary report.

In Melbourne, there were 1,286 homes taken to auction last week, compared with 1,345 over the previous week and 168 this time last year.

CoreLogic’s preliminary figures have revealed a success rate of 77.6 per cent so far, in line with the previous week’s preliminary clearance rate, which later revised down to 75.4 per cent at final figures.

In Sydney, there were 1,111 homes taken to auction last week, compared with 1,150 the previous week and 309 auctions this time last year.

The preliminary success rate in Sydney last week was 80.0 per cent, compared with the previous week’s 81.6 per cent, which revised down to 78.9 per cent at final figures.

Across the smaller markets, Canberra recorded the highest preliminary clearance rate last week of 86.5 per cent across 117 auctions, followed by Adelaide (79.6 per cent across 158 auctions), Perth (68.8 per cent across 23 auctions) and Brisbane (63.6 per cent across 147 auctions).

Home values, listings spike

Home values across the combined five capitals (excluding Darwin and Hobart) surged by 9.3 per cent year-to-date, 8.2 per cent over the last 12 months, while recording a 2 per cent monthly increase and 0.5 per cent weekly rise, according to the CoreLogic Daily Home Value Index.

Meanwhile, the number of new properties listed for sale has surged across the combined capital cities by 89.1 per cent.

However, total listings declined by 6.2 per cent, which CoreLogic attributed to the impact of the COVID-19-related restrictions imposed last year.

Housing finance activity rose by a marginal 0.8 per cent nationally, led by a 14.4 per cent surge in Tasmania, CoreLogic data revealed.

While activity in the mortgage market rose in NSW (4.1 per cent), South Australia (3.8 per cent) and Victoria (2.7 per cent), it declined in Queensland by 6.1 per cent, while Western Australia recorded a more marginal fall (down 0.5 per cent).

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[Related: Auction volumes down, home values spike: CoreLogic]

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.