Auction Wrap Up – 12 March 2016

March 14, 2016/ Pricefinder / Auction Results

National

Auction activity took a breather in preparation for this coming weekend’s Super Saturday. Across the capital cities, 1,118 listings were recorded compared to the previous week’s 1,959. The national activity was slow as a result of Melbourne sellers enjoying the Labour Day long weekend. Other capitals failed to offset Melbourne’s low numbers, with only a small weekly increase in Sydney and Brisbane’s listings, while numbers in Adelaide and Canberra declined.

The national auction clearance rate closed at 71.5 per cent* on Saturday but is expected to fall below 70 per cent upon revision.  Despite encouraging preliminary results, the national clearance rate has so far this year failed to break through the 70 per cent mark upon revision, compared to results in the mid-seventies for this time last year.

Sydney

Sydney’s auction listing number edged higher from the previous weekend, with 593 properties listed for Auction on Saturday. The number of withdrawn auctions halved from 60 on the previous weekend to 30 on Saturday, and was also lower than the corresponding weekend in 2015. The low number of properties withdrawn indicated growing market confidence in anticipation for this weekend’s first Super Saturday for the year.

The auction clearance rate of 76.3 per cent* is likely to be adjusted to the low 70s once all results are collected, falling short of last year’s dazzling performance of 80.9 per cent. With that said, the argument for running an auction campaign remains strong, as more than seven properties for every ten listed, selling before or at the auction. The average time on the market for auction listings stayed, in most cases, lower than 30 days.

Melbourne

Melbourne recorded 340 listings as Victorians took time off for the Labour Day long weekend. The number of listings was 28 per cent higher than the Labour Day Saturday last year, proving that demand remains high. This is further supported by a 73.4 per cent clearance rate* that, upon revision, is likely to be similar last year’s 71.5 per cent rate.

There are over 1,500 listings for the city’s first Super Saturday on the 19^th of March. The highest number of listings this year and the second highest on record (after the last weekend in November 2015).

* Saturday’s auction clearance rates are preliminary.

Odi Reuveni / Research Manager / PriceFinder