Auction activity holds steady as the combined capitals preliminary clearance rate ticks higher

Auction activity across the combined capitals held steady over the second week of spring, with 2,285 homes taken under the hammer last week, one fewer than the 2,286 held the week prior. While last week marked the first week-on-week decline in auction activity in five weeks, this week's numbers were still 19.1% higher than this time last year (1,918) when weaker selling conditions saw a more sluggish start to the traditional spring selling season.

The combined capital's preliminary clearance rate rose for the first time in three weeks, up 50 basis points last week, with 71.7% of the 1,725 results collected so far returning a successful result. The uptick was primarily driven by buyers, with the portion of properties passed in at auction (19.1%) falling to its lowest rate since mid-March 2022 (18.7%), while the vendors were a little more bearish, with the withdrawal rate rising 1.9 percentage points to 9.5%. A preliminary clearance rate of 71.2% (revised to 65.4% at final figures) was recorded the previous week, while this time last year, 59.7% of auctions recorded successful results.

Sydney hosted 907 auctions across the city last week, six fewer than the week prior (913) but 29.9% higher than this time last year when 698 auctions were held. With 698 results collected to date, Sydney's preliminary clearance continued the downward trend seen over the previous two weeks, falling 40 basis points to 73.4% last week. The previous week's preliminary clearance rate (73.8%) was revised to 68.2% at final numbers, while this time last year, a final clearance rate of 60.0% was recorded.

Auction activity across Melbourne exceeded the 1,000 mark for the third consecutive week, with 1,013 homes auctioned last week. The previous week (1,009) saw four fewer homes go under the hammer, while this time last year (847), the number of auctions held across Melbourne was -16.4% lower. With 790 results collected so far, Melbourne recorded its highest preliminary clearance rate in three weeks, with 71.5% of auctions reporting a successful result. The previous week's preliminary clearance rate was 2.2 percentage points lower at 69.3% (revised to 63.8% at final figures), while 61.9% of the auctions held this week last year were successful.

With just shy of 2,450 auctions currently scheduled across the combined capitals this week, this year's spring selling season is shaping up to be significantly busier than last spring. The clearance rate will continue to be an important indicator of whether the market can absorb the additional supply.

All data to week ending 10 September 2023

Source: CoreLogic