Auction clearances tank on low volumes

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ScreenHunter_07 Mar. 20 20.55

By Leith van Onselen

The national auction clearance rate fell sharply over the weekend, although volumes were also very low owing to the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, which affected all jurisdictions except Western Australia.

According to RP Data, the weighted average preliminary auction clearance rate fell to just 59.9% from 68.3% the week before, driven by an 11.4% decrease in Sydney (last weekend 77.1%) and a 3.6% decline in Melbourne to 61.0% from 64.6% last weekend. Brisbane’s clearances rate also fell to 42.9% from 49.5% the weekend before.

ScreenHunter_2803 Jun. 09 17.43
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The national clearance rate of 59.9% was the lowest for well over a year (see next chart). However, this weekend’s auctions volumes were also down significantly to just 1,178, from 3,037 last weekend, which obviously devalues the significance of this weekend’s weak result.

ScreenHunter_2804 Jun. 09 17.43

As usual, the other data providers produced better results but on smaller samples.

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The Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) reported a preliminary clearance rate of 67% on just 227 reported auctions, which was well down on last weekend’s 73% on 1,057 auctions.

For Sydney, APM reported a preliminary clearance rate of 74% on just 277 reported auctions, which was also well down on the 79% clearance rate on 568 reported auctions recorded last weekend.

About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.