Combined capitals’ preliminary clearance rate rises back above the 70% mark

With 2,441 homes taken to auction, the combined capital's last week hosted the second busiest auction week since late September (2,648) and the fourth busiest auction week of the year-to-date. Up 7.3% from the 2,275 held the week prior, last week's auction numbers were 12.5% above the levels recorded this time last year (2,169).

 The combined capitals’ preliminary clearance rate rose 90 basis points last week, taking it back above the 70% mark, with 70.8% of the 1,904 results collected returning a successful result. The previous week saw the preliminary clearance rate fall below the 70% mark for the first time in 24 weeks, with 69.9% of auctions reporting a positive result (revised to 65.2% at final numbers), while this time last year, 60.7% of auctions were successful.

Auction activity held relatively steady across Sydney last week, with 896 homes auctioned across the city, up from 892 the week prior. With 712 results collected so far, Sydney recorded its highest preliminary clearance rate of the month, with 74.2% of auctions returning a successful result. The rise was accompanied by a lift in buyer confidence, with the portion of properties passed in at auction falling -7.6 percentage points to 12.9%. Sydney's withdrawal rate also came in at 12.9%, up 20 basis points compared to the week prior. The previous week's preliminary clearance rate was 1.9 percentage points lower at 72.3% (revised to 66.8% at final numbers), while this time last year, 60.4% of the 632 auctions held across Sydney returned a successful result.

Melbourne hosted the busiest auction market last week, with 1,107 homes auctioned across the city. While last week’s auction activity was up 7.6% compared to the 1,029 auctions held the week prior, it is -4.8% below the number of auctions held this time last year (1,163). With 888 results collected so far, Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate held relatively steady at 68.6%, up 10 basis points compared to the week prior (68.5%, revised to 64.3%). This week last year, Melbourne recorded a final clearance rate of 62.0%.

Capital city auction activity is set to skyrocket this week, with almost 2,900 homes set to go to auction on Saturday in what’s been dubbed a ‘Super Saturday’ event. With an additional 600 auctions scheduled throughout the rest of the week, this week is set to be the combined capital's busiest since before Easter last year (4,035) and will provide a timely test of market demand.

All data to week ending 22 October 2023

Source: CoreLogic