Auction activity ‘peaks’ for the year: CoreLogic

CoreLogic’s Property Market Indicator for the week ended 29 October 2023 has revealed that 3,383 properties went up for auction, marking the highest number since late May 2022 when auction volumes reached 3,226.

The latest auction results also displayed a clearance rate of 68.5 per cent.

This week’s numbers are up by 37.4 per cent compared to the 2,463 auctions held the previous week and are a striking 76.1 per cent higher than the same period last year when there were 1,921 auctions.

Economist Kaytlin Ezzy at CoreLogic Australia noted while auction numbers typically rise throughout spring before reaching a peak in late November to early December, this year’s spring selling season got off to an early start.

“With 2,573 results collected so far, 23.1 per cent of properties were passed in at auction while 8.4 per cent were withdrawn by vendors,” Ms Ezzy said.

“The previous week’s preliminary clearance rate was 2.3 percentage points higher at 70.8 per cent (revising to 65.7 per cent at final figures), while this week last year, a final clearance rate of 58.8 per cent was reported.”

Although the clearance rate was slightly lower than the May average of 70.5 per cent, last week’s rate of 68.5 per cent was still above the five-year average of 64.0 per cent.

This time last year, weaker selling conditions led to just 58.8 per cent of auctions reporting a successful result.

Ms Ezzy anticipated that this week will likely be the peak of this year’s spring selling season.

An early analysis of auction numbers over the coming fortnight suggested that auction activity will remain elevated as we approach the end of spring.

Melbourne saw 1,703 homes go to auction, a significant increase from the previous week (1,029), and nearly triple the number from the same time last year (602).

This marked the busiest auction week since before Easter 2022 when 1,795 homes went to auction.

Auction activity across Sydney exceeded 1,000 for just the third time this year, with 1,086 homes going under the hammer this week, up 22.3 per cent.

Last week, Sydney hosted 24.7 per cent fewer auctions (888), while this time last year, 751 homes were auctioned.

“With 830 results collected so far, Sydney’s preliminary clearance rate fell -3.4 percentage points, with 70.8 per cent of auctions reporting a successful result,” Ms Ezzy said.

The fall in the preliminary clearance rate was driven by a rise in both Sydney’s withdrawal rate (13.7 per cent), up 80 basis points, and the portion of properties passed in at auction (15.4 per cent) up 2.5 percentage points.

Across the smaller capitals, Brisbane and Canberra experienced their busiest auction weeks of the year to date, with 238 homes going to auction in Brisbane, up by 43 per cent compared to the previous week and 9 per cent higher than this time last year.

Canberra saw its auction volumes double from the previous week (80), with 165 auctions taking place.

Adelaide saw 173 homes going to auction, marking a 1.8 per cent increase and recorded its highest preliminary clearance rate in seven weeks, with 85.1 per cent of the 101 results collected so far returning a successful result.

Perth is the only capital that saw fewer auctions this week, with 15 auctions, down from 16 the previous week.

Tasmania had three homes up for auction.

“Capital city auction numbers are expected to return to around the 2,100 mark this week, with last week potentially marking the peak in this spring selling season,” Ms Ezzy said.

[Related: Home values expected to reach new record in 2023]