Long weekend leads to lower auction activity

The latest figures from CoreLogic show that only 1,426 homes were taken to auction across the combined capital cities in the week ending 13 June 2021 – a downward revision from the 1,636 auctions predicted earlier in the week.

In comparison, the previous week saw 2,668 homes taken to auction, while the same week last year saw 1,181 auctions.

Of the capital cities, Melbourne bore the brunt of the downward revision as it emerged from two-week lockdown, albeit with a number of restrictions still in place.

The Victorian capital saw just 365 auctions this week following the confirmation of the end of the lockdown – down from last week’s 1,081 auctions and last year’s 471.

Meanwhile, Sydney continued to record the highest auction volume at 749 – lower than last week’s 1,164 but higher than last year’s 545.

The smaller capital cities continued to see significantly lower auction volumes, with Brisbane at 130, Adelaide at 88, Canberra at 73 and Perth at 21.

Perth was the only capital city to report a boost on the previous week’s numbers.

Despite the fall in auction volumes, clearance rates took on a more positive trend, CoreLogic found.

Of the 1,169 results collected so far across the combined capitals, 77.4 per cent were successful – an increase from the previous week’s final clearance rate of 70.6 per cent.

Adelaide recorded the highest preliminary clearance rate at 86 per cent, followed by Canberra with 82.5 per cent, Sydney with 78.5 per cent, Brisbane with 75.5 per cent, Melbourne with 73 per cent and Perth with 70 per cent.

All capital cities except Sydney saw increases in clearance rates compared with last week’s results.

According to Ray White NSW chief auctioneer Alex Pattaro, the holiday weekend didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of eager buyers across the state.

“We continue to see high clearance rates and strong bidder activity. Even on a long weekend where you would expect it to be a touch quieter, we saw fierce bidding and strong competition across all our auctions.

“Sellers are also still obtaining record-breaking and incredible prices.

“So, whether you are a buyer or a seller, we see the current market as a fantastic opportunity for both sides to transact,” Mr Pattaro said.

Home values

Looking at the weekly change in home values, CoreLogic pointed to a 0.5 per cent growth in combined capital city values over the week ending 13 June 2021, with Sydney leading the charge with a 0.7 per cent per cent rise, followed by Brisbane with 0.4 per cent, Melbourne and Adelaide with 0.3 per cent, and Perth with 0.2 per cent.

Month-on-month, the data saw Sydney maintain its lead with a 2.5 per cent increase, followed by Brisbane with 1.8 per cent, Adelaide with 1.5 per cent, Melbourne with 1.4 per cent and Perth with 0.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, year-to-date changes pointed to Sydney still winning the race, further widening its gap from other capital cities with a lift of 13.8 per cent – making it the only capital city with double-digit growth. Brisbane followed with 9.5 per cent, then Melbourne with 8.8 per cent, Adelaide with 7.8 per cent and Perth with 7.3 per cent.

Over the most recent four-week period, Sydney and Canberra clocked the highest capital city private treaty median prices for houses at $900,000 and $850,000, respectively.

Sydney also held the pole position for units, with a private treaty median of $657,500, while Melbourne followed with an average figure of $575,000.

On the other hand, Adelaide was the most affordable capital city for houses and units, with the private treaty median prices sitting at $504,000 and $363,500, respectively.

Private treaty sales represented around 85 per cent of all dwelling sales across the country, according to CoreLogic.

Average time on market for houses was shortest in Hobart at 22 days, followed by Sydney with 286 days, Melbourne with 311 days, Adelaide and Canberra with 33 days, Brisbane with 34 days, Perth with 39 days and Darwin with 41 days.

For units, Hobart recorded the lowest number at 28 days, while Brisbane was the highest at 51 days, followed by Melbourne (42), Adelaide (37), Perth (37), Canberra (36), Sydney (36) and Darwin (35).