Q3 saw auction levels fall to lowest point in 12 months

Tim Lawless, research director at CoreLogic, confirmed lower activity was indicative of weaker consumer sentiment and fewer listings.

“Lower auction volumes are just another indicator of the rapid change in market conditions as sellers also adjust to increasing interest rates and fewer buyers,” he said.

He said that, while spring is typically the peak time for sellers to list their property — hence the term “spring selling season” — this has not been the case in 2022 as “the majority of cities and rural areas [are] yet to see the normal seasonal upswing in freshly listed properties hitting the market”.

The September quarter also saw the lowest Australian clearance rates (56.4 per cent) since June 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was in its infancy. These results represent a 15.2 per cent drop from the 71.7 per cent recorded in the same quarter of 2021.

“Clearance rates have been falling each quarter just as the rate of growth in property values has slowed,” he said.

“The combined capital city clearance rate hit a record peak of 80 per cent in March 2021 and has gradually declined ever since. However, the monthly trend in clearance rates has shown a consistent rise in auction clearance rates, with the weighted average capital city clearance rate firming around 60 per cent each week in September.”

Adelaide was the best-performing capital city throughout the quarter, with 67.7 per cent of its auctions returning a positive result, followed by Tasmania (58.8 per cent), Melbourne (58.5 per cent), Canberra (57.5 per cent), and Sydney (55 per cent).

CoreLogic did caveat that activity levels in Tasmania are comparatively incredibly low compared to other cities — with just 17 auctions held in the three months to September.

Perth and Brisbane were the only capital cities to record a clearance rate below 50 per cent, at 38.8 per cent and 43.9 per cent, respectively.

Regarding volume, Melbourne hosted the most auctions throughout the quarter (9,107), followed by Sydney (8,776), and Brisbane (1,970) in the podium places.