Auction volumes drop but buyer demand persists

According to CoreLogic data, of the 1,587 capital city homes taken to auction last week, 1,311 results have so far been collected, generating a clearance rate of 84.5 per cent.

This is an improvement on the week prior’s preliminary clearance rate of 81.9 per cent when volumes were higher and stood at 2,473.

The preliminary figures put Canberra well ahead of its capital city counterparts, with a preliminary figure of 91.5 per cent, followed by Sydney (86.7 per cent), Brisbane (82.3 per cent), Perth (81.8 per cent), Adelaide (81.7 per cent) and Melbourne (80.9 per cent).

In Sydney, 812 homes were taken to auction this week, returning a preliminary auction clearance rate of 86.7 per cent.

Auction Insider data has put Sydney’s median price for houses sold at auction on the weekend at $1.7 million, above the previous weekend’s $1.65 million, and 17.5 per cent higher than the $1.5 million recorded over the same weekend last year.

The top reported Sydney auction sale at the weekend was a four-bedroom home at 28 Fairfax Rd Mosman that sold for $10,520,000. The home was put up for auction by disgruntled creditors after Mr Huang fled the country last year.

As for Melbourne, a continued revival was recorded despite the distractions of the Labour Day long weekend holiday. CoreLogic put Melbourne’s rate at 80.9 per cent following a total of 477 auctions.

Auction Insider data puts Melbourne’s top median price at $948,000, predictably lower than the previous weekend’s $1.0 million, with fewer higher-priced listings over the holiday weekend.

House prices, however, were 10.9 per cent higher than the $855,000 recorded over the same holiday weekend last year.

Melbourne’s top reported auction sale at the weekend was a four-bedroom house at 21 Thomas St Kew that sold for $6,400,000.

As for the week prior’s final clearance rate, CoreLogic put it at a revised 79.3 per cent.