Auction clearance rates rose slightly over the weekend, driven by gains in Sydney and Melbourne, although the trend in auctions is still pointing to softening buyer demand.
According to RP Data, the weighted average auction clearance rate rose to slightly 67.4% from 66.3% the week before, driven by a 0.4% increase in Sydney (last weekend 75.7%) and an 11.7% increase in Brisbane (last week 42.5%), whereas Melbourne’s clearance rate fell marginally (63.4% this weekend versus 63.7% last weekend). However, this weekend’s auctions volumes were also significantly lower than last weekends (1,514 versus 2,033 last weekend), adding to the softer trend.
Auction clearance rates nationally have fallen materially over the past two months back to levels commensurate with this time last year:
The other data providers produced better results but on much smaller samples.
The Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) reported a preliminary clearance rate of 70% on 556 recorded auctions (same as last weekend), whereas for Sydney, APM reported a preliminary clearance rate of 78% on 311 reported auctions (slightly up on last week’s 77% preliminary clearance rate).
