CoreLogic has released its first auction report for 2019, which reported another weak round of auctions on very low volumes.
The preliminary national auction clearance rate was just 47.8%, way below the 62.0% recorded in the same weekend of last year:
Auction volumes nationally were just 526 – well below the 790 recorded in the same weekend last year:
Once revised the numbers nationally will likely fall into the low-40s.
Preliminary clearances in Sydney (-3.4%), Melbourne (-26.1%), Brisbane (-5.0%), Adelaide (-17.4%), Perth (-22.4%) and Canberra (-12.2%) were all lower than the same weekend last year. Again, these are based on preliminary clearance rates, which are overstated and will be revised lower.
The table shows the breakdown by sub-region and shows that Sydney’s and Melbourne’s auction clearances differ markedly:
In summary, the auction market has begun 2019 as it ended in 2018: abysmally weak. This adds to the weight of evidence suggesting dwelling values will continue falling at a swift pace.
