Residential property prices are not back to boom time levels but listings and sales are
Australia’s biggest residential real estate market continues to post solid sales gains
11 November 2019 | Dr Andrew Wilson, My Housing Market
The Sydney home auction market produced another stunning performance at the weekend recording more boom-time clearance rates despite a surge in listings. Sydney’s weekend rate of 80.5% was higher than the previous weekend’s 76.7% and well above the 47.0% recorded over the same weekend last year.
Auction numbers are now clearly reviving following a period of subdued activity from sellers with 813 reported on Saturday which was well above both the previous weekends 695 and the 681 reported over the same weekend last year.
Sydney’s median weekend auction price of $1,300,000 was yet again higher than the previous weekend’s $1,285,000 and also higher than the same weekend last year’s $1,261,250. Sydney’s northern suburbs produced outstanding results at the weekend led by the Northern Beaches with a 100% clearance rate with the Upper North Shore 90.5% and the Lower North 89.8%.
Recent relatively low listings can no longer be used to excuse boom-time clearance rates in Sydney with high auction numbers matching robust underlying buyer demand in the nation’s strongest housing market.
Melbourne bounces back after a week off
The Melbourne auction market bounced back from last weekend’s Melbourne Cup pause with a predictable surge in listings. Melbourne recorded a weekend clearance rate of 73.3% which was higher than the previous weekends 68.8% and the 47.1% recorded over the same weekend last year.
Underlying auction listings are gradually approaching last year’s totals at the same time, with sellers now keen to take advantage of strong market conditions before year’s end 957 homes were reported auctioned on Saturday which was higher than the previous weekend’s 174 and similar to the 996 listed over the same weekend last year Melbourne recorded a weekend median auction price of $854,250 which was higher again than the previous weekend’s $790,250 and the same weekend last year’s $792,500.
Melbourne’s Outer East was yet again top weekend regional performer with a clearance rate at 81.2% followed by the North East 78.7% and Inner South with 78.6%. Higher auction numbers over coming weekends will test Melbourne’s robust housing market that has so far this spring made every post a winner.
Preliminary auction numbers across the smaller markets were Brisbane (142 listed, 54.5% cleared); Adelaide (115 listed, 50.7% cleared); Canberra (112 listed, 72.2% cleared); and Perth (54 listed, 22.2% cleared).
Dr Andrew Wilson is the Chief Economist of My Housing Market
