Sydney set for busy auction week while other cities waver

Sydney is set to have its busiest week since June, with 801 homes vying for bidders, up from 661 the week before.

In Melbourne, a schedule of 629 auctions slated for the coming days puts the industry into recovery mode, rebounding from the 386 auctions that were scheduled for the week before. 

Even so, CoreLogic predicts that the actual number of homes taken to auction in Victoria’s capital will likely revise down due to frequent rescheduling driven by COVID restrictions. It’s still a significant increase over last year’s numbers from this same period, when just 11 homes headed to auction.

In the smaller capital city markets, Adelaide has 203 homes on the block, while Brisbane has 182 properties looking for new owners. Canberra is set to host 54 auctions, Perth puts 18 homes forward, and Tasmania plans to play host to seven auctions.

Last Week’s Results

Final clearance rates were up last week over the previous seven days, with a success rate of 73.7 per cent recorded across the combined capital cities, up from 67.7 per cent. This time last year, that figure came in at 63 percent, albeit with significantly fewer homes going under the hammer.

CoreLogic’s final figures from last week show there were 1,453 homes taken to auction across the capitals, down from the 1,638 originally scheduled. This tracks with the week prior, when 1,423 auctions were held. Over this period last year, 816 homes hit the block.

Melbourne’s clearance rate has been improving over the last two weeks even as a considerable number of auctions continue to be rescheduled. There were 386 auctions held across Melbourne last week, down -30.3 per cent from the initial predicted count, with 55 per cent finding new owners – up from 43.8 per cent over the previous week. A lower withdrawal rate (42.1 per cent last week, compared to 52.9 per cent over the previous week) can be credited for the increases in clearance.

Sydney saw its highest clearance rate since late March, with 82.8 per cent of the 661 properties that went to auction finding buyers. By and large, the city’s numbers reflect consistency, with 607 properties hitting the block in the seven days leading up to last week’s sales, with a success rate of 81.2 per cent. This is the third consecutive week where Sydney has recorded a final clearance rate above 80.0 per cent. 

During the same period last year, 600 Sydney properties went up for auction, with a significantly lower success rate than what we’re seeing this year at 65.9 per cent.

Adelaide, too, is seeing a high rate of clearance, with 85.4 per cent of its auctions resulting in a sale last week. 

Of the auctions held across the ACT, 73.8 per cent found buyers, though 19 per cent of the anticipated sales were withdrawn due to the city’s lockdown. It’s an improvement over the previous week’s 30.9 per cent rate of withdrawal, but given the news that ACT’s COVID restrictions will remain in place for a further four weeks, this number could continue to fluctuate.

Brisbane had a 70.1 per cent success rate last week, while 66.7 of Perth’s properties up for auction found new owners.