CoreLogic says the combined capital city preliminary clearance rate increased this week, up from last week’s final of 73.6 per cent to 77.5 per cent, with auction volumes also showing an increasing trend over the week. There were 2,843 auctions held across the combined capital cities, up from last week’s 2,517. However, auction volumes continue to track lower than the corresponding period last year when 3,274 auctions were reported with a lower rate of clearance (62.3 per cent). The two largest auction markets, Melbourne and Sydney, continue to skew the capital city weighted average higher, with both cities consistently recording an auction clearance rate higher than 70 per cent throughout Spring, despite a substantial reduction in the number of auctions compared with last year. Late November and early December have historically shown the highest number of auctions. As the number of auctions trends higher over the coming weeks, the larger stock levels will provide a timely test of the auction markets strength.
