Auction activity across Australia’s capital cities is on the rise for the second consecutive week, with 1,839 properties going to auction this week.
CoreLogic figures show that of the 1,399 results collected so far, 62.6% reported a successful result, the highest preliminary result in three months.
Melbourne hosted the busiest auction week of all the capital cities, with 787 properties going under the hammer, up 23% compared to last week when 640 homes were auctioned.
The Victorian capital’s preliminary clearance rate dropped 60 basis points this week (the first fall in five weeks), with 64.9% of the 627 results collected so far returning a positive result.
While this is down compared to last week’s preliminary clearance rate of 65.5%, it is higher than the 49.1% clearance rate of this time last year.
CoreLogic economist Kaytlin Ezzy (pictured above left) said with each of the capitals recording auction volumes equal to or above the numbers recorded last week, capital city auction activity rose 14.2% from the previous week and was 4.3% higher than the number of auctions held this time last year.
“Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate dropped 60 basis points this week to the 627 results collected so far returning a positive result,” Ezzy said. “While down compared to last week’s preliminary clearance rate, this week’s result is up compared to the portion of successful auctions held this time last year, which was impacted by the sixth Melbourne lockdown.”
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Tim Rodda (pictured above right), owner of Melbourne brokerage Loans on the Run, said stock levels of property were at a lower point than the boom the Victorian capital had just witnessed.
“Having spoken to real estate agents in both Bayside Melbourne and in the southeast, in these instances stock is half of what was previously held,” Rodda said. “As interest rates rise, we are seeing vendors having more realistic opinions of their properties worth and genuine buyers no longer being prepared to pay above the price range listed.”
Rodda said he was seeing properties sell in normal ranges.
“Most settlements we are doing for clients at present are 90 days with the occasional longer one to allow them the time to sell their own property,” he said. “There are certainly good opportunities for buying good investments at present on the back of any panic selling.”
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Rodda said the real estate agents he had spoken to were seeing properties selling for the asking price with the occasional one above.
“It only takes two determined buyers to push a price up, but certainly it is more the exception than the norm for going above the buying range listed,” he said.
Rodda said he had also recently seen investor buying opportunities increase, however six months ago properties in similar locations were only selling for 5% to 10% more.
He also said investors were purchasing these properties as SMSF entities or other investment structures.
In its weekly market update, CoreLogic also revealed that Sydney had recorded its busiest auction week in August so far with 654 homes auctioned across the city and its highest preliminary clearance rate of 63.4%.
Across the other capital cities, the total number of auctions held for the week held steady in Adelaide (125) and Perth (15). Auctions were up 16.2% in Brisbane (151) and 21.2% in Canberra (103).
