Second-busiest auction week of the year recorded

Preliminary clearance data from property analytics company CoreLogic has revealed that Australia recorded its second-busiest auction week of the year so far in the week ended Sunday, 24 September.

With 2,550 homes auctioned across the capitals, it overtook the previous week’s count of 2,314, becoming the busiest week since before Easter when 2,687 auctions were recorded. This uptick in activity represents the second-busiest week of the year thus far, demonstrating the resilience and vitality of the real estate sector.

Originally anticipated to set a new auction activity record for the year (with 2,725 expected to go under the hammer), the volume dropped after approximately 200 auctions were rescheduled for future dates, while 184 auctions, representing 9.5 per cent of the total, were withdrawn from auction altogether.

Despite these adjustments, there was a 10.2 per cent week-on-week rise in auction activity, accompanied by a 1.9 percentage point increase in the preliminary clearance rate. Of the 1,933 results collected so far, 72 per cent cleared.

This surge in auction success came after the the lowest preliminary clearance rate in 20 weeks during the previous week (70.1 per cent, later revised to 64.4 per cent at final figures).

Last year during the same period, various public holidays, including the national day of mourning for her majesty the Queen, the AFL grand final, and the sovereign’s birthday in Queensland and Western Australia, led to just 1,316 homes being auctioned with a final clearance rate of 60.0 per cent.

Melbourne leads the charge

Melbourne, in particular, played a significant role in driving the week’s increased auction activity, with 1,038 homes going under the hammer. This marked a 5.7 per cent increase from the previous week’s count of 982; the first time auction numbers had fallen below 1,000 for four weeks.

In stark contrast, last week’s auction volumes were more than seven times higher than the same period last year, when only 130 auctions took place due to the extended weekend caused by the AFL grand final and national day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth’s death.

Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate also rose, reaching 70.5 per cent. The previous week’s clearance rate stood at 69.6 per cent (later revised to 63.3 per cent at final numbers). In comparison, during the same period last year, Melbourne’s clearance rate was 64.6 per cent.

Sydney on the up

In Sydney, a total of 978 auctions took place last week, up from 927 in the previous week and 807 during the same period last year. Of the 777 results collected thus far, 74.4 per cent yielded successful outcomes, marking Sydney’s highest preliminary clearance rate in four weeks.

Both buyers and vendors contributed to this positive trend, with Sydney’s withdrawal rate falling to 12.9 per cent and the portion of properties passed in at auction decreasing to 12.7 per cent.

The previous week had recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 72.5 per cent, which was 1.9 percentage points lower and marked Sydney’s lowest preliminary result since early August. A year ago, only 61.3 per cent of Sydney auctions resulted in successful outcomes.

Across the smaller capitals, Brisbane and Adelaide achieved their busiest auction week of the year to date, with 237 and 174 homes auctioned, respectively. Adelaide continued its strong streak, securing the highest preliminary clearance rate among the smaller capitals for the 14th consecutive week, at 84.1 per cent. Brisbane also performed well with a clearance rate of 70.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, Canberra witnessed 102 homes go under the hammer, with 57.1 per cent reporting successful outcomes, while in Perth, only five out of 20 homes were successful at auction. In Tasmania, the single home scheduled to go under the hammer was withdrawn from auction.

While last week set a new benchmark for auction activity, the coming week is expected to see a significant drop in numbers, with five of the seven capital cities celebrating a long weekend.

Overall, combined capital cities saw home values rise by 0.2 per cent over the week or 2.0 per cent when compared to the same time last year.

Find out more about last week’s auction results in the Mortgage Business Uncut podcast, below:

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