Busiest combined capital city auction week so far this year

With 2,044 auctions held, last week saw the highest volume of auctions so far this year. Demand from buyers has kept pace with the pick-up in activity, with the preliminary clearance rate coming in at 75.4%, down slightly from the previous week (76.2% which revised to 70.3% on final numbers).

For some context, the preliminary clearance rate settled in the mid 60% range at the end of last year, and final clearance rates were in the mid 50%’s. With the preliminary clearance rate holding above 73% for the past three weeks, it’s probably fair to say the stronger auction results are attributable to more than early-year seasonality. Instead, it appears some confidence has returned to the auction markets amid falling inflation and a growing expectation that lower interest rates later this year could see housing price growth accelerate.

Sydney recorded 688 auctions last week, returning a preliminary clearance rate of 81.7%, the highest preliminary outcome since mid-October in 2021. This marked the second consecutive week that Sydney’s preliminary rate held above the 80% range, with the previous week’s early rate of 80.4% revising to 75.4% at final numbers. Melbourne held 961 auctions, with 72.2% selling at auction so far. Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate has held above the 70% mark through the year-to-date, but was down slightly compared to the week prior (73.1%, revised to 66.9%).

Across the smaller capitals, Brisbane recorded the busiest auction week, with 169 homes taken to auction, followed by Adelaide (140), Canberra (74), Perth (9) and Tasmania (3). Adelaide recorded the highest preliminary clearance rate at 76.1%, followed by Brisbane and Canberra, with early success rates of 74.1% and 55.6% respectively. Just one auction result has been reported so far for both Perth and Tasmania, both were successful.

This week is set to see a further pick up in auction activity, with around 2,800 homes currently scheduled to go under the hammer.

All data to week ending  18 February 2024

Source: CoreLogic