Auction clearance rates over the weekend remained lacklustre in Australia’s two major markets.
According to the REIV, Melbourne recorded an auction clearance rate of 56% over the weekend, which was the same as the previous week (revised down from 57%) but below the year-to-date average of 61%. The number of reported auctions (544) was also well below last week’s level (626) and the same weekend last year (681):
According to the REIV’s 2012 State of the Victorian Property Market report (see my other post), both the number of homes for auction as well as the clearance rate are well down on the five-year average (see below table).
Auction results were a little stronger in Sydney, which recorded a clearance rate of 60%. This was a modest improvement on the same time last year (56%) and in line with results recorded over the past 12 weeks:
To date, the recent -75 basis points of cuts to official interest rates since early-May has done little to reinvigorate the auction market.
