The combined capital cities saw fewer homes taken to auction this week, with a total of 2,280 held, down on last week when 2,577 were held.
The lower volumes saw an improved preliminary clearance rate over the week, returning a 63.5 per cent success rate, increasing on the week prior’s final clearance rate which was the lowest weighted average result seen over the year-to-date with 60.3 per cent of properties selling.
Once again the combined unit market outperformed houses, returning a 67.7 per cent clearance rate, while a lower 61.7 per cent of houses sold. A similar trend is evident in CoreLogic indices which show the unit market outperforming house values as housing demand slides towards the more affordable segments of the market.
Although the preliminary clearance rate has shown a positive rise over the week, the trend in auction clearance rates, based on the more complete final results, clearly shows a downwards trend in clearance rates. Auction markets remain more buoyant than December last year, when Sydney clearance rates reached a low point of 52 percent, however the weaker auction results suggest housing market conditions are likely to remain relatively soft.
Looking at results over the corresponding year-to-date period last year, the capital city auction market was performing quite differently, with an average of 10 per cent more homes selling over the same period last year, while weekly volumes continue to show similar trends.
Melbourne returned a preliminary clearance rate of 63.5 per cent this week across 1,137 auctions, down on last week when 1,334 auctions took place and a higher 63.9 per cent cleared. In Sydney, 774 auctions were held this week with 66.9 per cent selling, increasing on last week when only 55.8 per cent of auctions were successful across a slightly higher 829 auctions.
Results were varied across the smaller auction markets this week, with Canberra and Perth recording a slight increase in week-on-week volumes, while the remaining markets saw fewer auctions take place. In terms of clearance rates, Canberra was the strongest performer this week with 74.2 per cent of homes selling, while only 18.2 per cent of Perth homes sold.
