Across Australia’s capital cities, 1,882 auctions were held last week, 33.1% more than the previous week. The total was still 41.8% lower than the same week last year.
This was the second consecutive week that capital city auction volumes were more than 40% below last year’s levels. Auction volumes rose in most cities, led by a 68% increase in Melbourne.
As auction volumes rose, the preliminary clearance rate fell. Of the capital city auctions with results reported, 48.4% were successful, down from 51.2% the previous week. The preliminary clearance rate has stayed below 50% in three of the past four weeks.
The number of homes taken to auction in Melbourne increased significantly from 495 to 831. However, compared to the same week last year, the city held 54.7% fewer auctions. This substantial reduction is partly attributable to softer selling conditions while the implementation of the state’s reserve price transparency requirements has also prompted a period of adjustment while vendors assess how best to sell their homes. The preliminary clearance rate declined by 1.4 percentage points to 54.8%, marginally below the spring-to-date average of 55.4%.
For the first time in twelve weeks, Sydney’s preliminary clearance rate fell below 50%. The result of 48.2% was only just above the recent low of 47.3% in June. Sydney hosted 631 auctions, up 10.7% on the previous week, but auction volumes were 34.1% lower than the year prior.
Brisbane had by far the lowest preliminary clearance rate of any capital city, at 25.2%. It was the city’s fourth-lowest preliminary result so far this year. With 200 homes taken to auction, Brisbane’s auction volumes were 25.0% higher than the previous week. The city was also one of the few capitals with higher auction volumes than a year ago, up 6.4% from the same week last year.
In Adelaide, 141 homes went to auction last week. This was 16.5% more than the previous week but 2.1% fewer than the same week last year. Against a spring-to-date average of 44.3%, the preliminary clearance rate was slightly lower at 42.5%.
A 13.8 percentage-point drop brought the ACT’s preliminary clearance rate to 52.1%. Year on year, auction volumes in the ACT were one-third lower, though the total of 60 auctions was 11.1% higher than the previous week. Half of the reported results from Perth’s 19 auctions were successful. Tasmania did not hold any auctions last week.
