Auction markets resume after holiday break with yet more boomtime results
3 May 2021 | Dr Andrew Wilson, My Housing Market
Home auction markets resumed at full pace at the weekend after the lengthy holiday distractions of April with May Day reporting more boomtime results across-the-board.
Easter, school holidays and the ANZAC Day long weekend have acted to side-track buyers and sellers, although results continued to reflect strong underlying market conditions.
Markets roared back to life on Saturday with a predictably sharp increase in auction numbers that nonetheless failed to dent the appetite of now fully-focused buyers.
2287 auctions were reported in auction capitals on Saturday which was an increase of 33.9% over the previous weekend and clearly the highest offering since the Super Saturday of auctions of March 27th a month ago.
Despite the surge in auctions, the average clearance rate remained relatively steady at 83.3% – just below the 83.4% recorded the previous weekend.
Auction markets will now head to the Queen’s Birthday holiday weekend which signals the start of the quieter winter market with still no sign of a significant easing of the boom
Sydney Back from the Break Reports Another Strong Result for Auction Sellers
Sydney’s home auction market recorded yet another super-strong clearance rate to herald the beginning of a new month in what continues to be the strongest start to the year for the local housing market since the crazy days of 1989.
Sydney reported a May Day clearance rate of 84.6% which was just below the 85.1% recorded the previous weekend and well above the covid-impacted 52.4% recorded over the same weekend last year.
Although Saturday’s result was the second consecutive weekend of marginally lower clearance rates for Sydney, it was achieved despite a 39% increase in the number of homes offered for sale.
934 auctions were reported on Saturday compared to the previous weekends 672 and the 221 auctioned over the same weekend last year. Saturday’s Sydney auction numbers were clearly the second highest of the year so far – behind only the record Super Saturday offering a month ago.
Sydney recorded a median price of $1,590,500 for houses sold at auction at the weekend which was 9.7% higher than the $1,449,900 reported over the previous Saturday and 16.5% higher than the $1,365,000 recorded over the same weekend last year.
The City and East and the Inner West were Sydney’s top performing regions at the weekend each with clearance rates of 89.3%. The Central Coast, the West and the South West however all fell below 80% at the weekend.
The clearance rate for houses was 84.4%, with units higher this weekend at 85.8%. The top reported Sydney auction sale at the weekend was a 3-bedroom unit at 6/93 Elizabeth Bay Rd Elizabeth Bay that sold for $8,500,000.View top selling home here 6/93 Elizabeth Bay Rd Elizabeth Bay
The most affordable home reported sold at auction in Sydney at the weekend was a 2 bedroom unit at 3/37 Lucerne St Belmore that sold for $430,000.
Fully-Focused Melbourne Auction Market Bounces Back from Holidays
A fully-focused Melbourne auction market bounced back on Saturday following a month of holiday distractions, recording its highest clearance rate in a month despite a sharp increase in auction numbers.
Melbourne reported a month-high weekend clearance rate of 80.1% – higher than 79.0% recorded the previous weekend and well ahead of the covid-impacted 34.8% recorded over the same weekend last year.
1084 homes were reported listed for auction on Saturday which was predictably well above the 835 auctioned over the previous weekend and the 157 auctioned over the same weekend last year.
Melbourne recorded a median price of $1,001,000 for houses sold at auction on the weekend which was 2.6% higher than the $975,000 recorded over the previous weekend and 16.0% higher than the $863,000 recorded over the same weekend last year.
Melbourne’s Outer East again reported the top regional clearance rate on Saturday with 86.5% followed by the North East 82.7 % and the Inner City 82.6%.
The clearance rate for houses was 79.7%, with units higher at 81.7%.
