Long weekends across half the country have been blamed for declining Australian auction activity, according to CoreLogic.
Across the country, 1,282 homes went under the hammer, down 37.6 per cent from the week prior. So far, 1,091 results have been collected, with 65 per cent of them returning a successful result. Last week’s preliminary clearance rate was 70.3 per cent, which was revised down to 66.3 per cent. CoreLogic expects this week’s final figure to dip into the low 60 per cent range for the first time in three weeks.
Sydney was the busiest capital city, with 661 auctions occurring across the harbour city, down from 782 last week. A preliminary clearance rate of 69.3 per cent has been recorded from the 570 results collected to this point.
Ryde was the strongest performing sub-region in the NSW capital, registering an 80.5 per cent preliminary clearance rate from 41 auctions. On the flip side, the city’s south west was the weakest performer, as 44 per cent of its 41 auctions returned a positive result.
Hindered by Labour Day celebrations, 357 homes went to auction in Melbourne this week, down 61.5 per cent from the previous week’s 927 and 41.3 per cent on the same week last year’s 608. So far, 62.9 per cent of the 321 results collected so far have returned a successful result, down 8.3 per cent from last week’s 71.2 per cent.
Melbourne’s south east led the city with a preliminary clearance rate of 78.6 per cent from 46 auctions, while the Victorian capital’s west was its weakest performing sub-region, as 53.1 per cent of its 52 auctions returned a positive result.
Across the smaller capitals, Adelaide reported the highest preliminary clearance rate (69.1 per cent) from 80 auctions, followed by Canberra’s 54.5 per cent from 62 auctions, and Brisbane’s 48.1 per cent from 107 auctions — the largest volume of any smaller capitals.
In Perth, 12 of the 14 results have been collected so far, with 66.7 per cent of these returning a positive result, while the one home taken to auction in Tasmania was sold under the hammer.
CoreLogic is reporting auction volumes to rebound next week, with 2,350 homes expected to go under the hammer. If all scheduled auctions take place, Australia is expecting its busiest week since the week ending 26 February.
