Auction clearance rates over the weekend were 59% in Sydney and 55% in Melbourne. This compares to a year-to-date average of 62% and 61% respectively, according to the Real Estate Institutes of New South Wales and Victoria.
In New South Wales, the clearance rate of 59% was an improvement on last week’s 55% and the clearance rate of 53% recorded in the same weekend of last year.
Auction numbers were down, however, with only 338 auctions reported, compared with 434 last week and 367 on the same weekend last year:
In Melbourne, the clearance rate of 55% was down on last week’s 58%, but up on the 53% clearance rate recorded on the same weekend of last year.
Auctions volumes were also down sharply, with only 331 auctions reported compared with 482 last week and 479 in the same weekend of last year.
July is typically one of the slowest months of the year for auction activity, so the low auction volumes are, to some extent, seasonal. That said, the chronically low clearance rate would likely alarm the industry, which probably assumed that sales would pick-up following the recent -0.75% cuts to official interest rates.
