Property vendors and buyers cash in on rate cut

Advertisement

This weekend saw 2,962 auctions held across the capital cities, the highest volume since the week before Easter and the second-highest volume of auctions so far this year.

Total auctions held

Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) reported a preliminary auction clearance rate of 70.0%, down slightly from 71.3% last week, which was revised to a final clearance rate of 65.1% (the highest result since July last year).

Final auction clearance rates
Advertisement

Melbourne held 1,547 auctions this weekend, which was the highest volume of auctions so far this year. Based on results collected so far, Melbourne recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 72.4%, down from 73.7% last week (revised to a final clearance rate of 66.0%). This represented the fifth consecutive week that Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate held above the 70% mark.

Sydney held 1,062 auctions this weekend, the third-highest volume this year. So far, 69.9% of auctions recorded a sale, down from 72.2% last week (revised to a final clearance rate of 67.3%, which was the highest result for Sydney since August 2024).

As illustrated in the following chart, final auction clearance rates have trended high across Melbourne, Sydney, and nationally.

Advertisement
Final auction clearance rates

The rise in auction clearances has historically been associated with rising home prices.

AUctions versus prices
Advertisement

Indeed, Cotality’s daily dwelling values index shows that dwelling value growth has accelerated, led by Melbourne and Sydney:

Cotality daily index

Clearly, the expectation of interest rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has stimulated interest from vendors and buyers alike.

Advertisement

With the RBA forecast to cut the official cash rate another three times this year, housing activity and prices should continue to rise.

RBA rate tracker
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.