CoreLogic’s final auction results were released for last weekend, with a 66.2% clearance rate recorded across the combined capitals, led by Melbourne (71.8%) and Sydney (68.0%):
The strong rebound in auction clearance rates amid low supply has been one of the main drivers behind the unexpected rebound in Australian house prices.
As illustrated clearly in the next chart, capital city auction clearance rates rebounded in January, which preceded the lift in dwelling values:
This weekend’s auction activity is expected to rise, with 1,817 homes scheduled to go under the hammer, up 4.5% from the 1,739 auctions held last week.
This weekend, Melbourne has the busiest auction market, with 753 homes scheduled for sale. This is 2.2% higher than last weekend’s 737 auctions but 16.8% lower than the 905 auctions held during the same weekend last year.
There are 687 homes up for auction in Sydney this weekend, up 20.5% from the 570 auctions held last weekend and 4.2% from the 659 hosted this weekend last year.
CoreLogic notes that “the coming weeks will be a good measure of whether the RBA’s May rate hike will dissuade potential vendors from selling or if the current upswing in values will fuel higher than average auction activity through the quieter winter months”.
Time will tell.
