Auction activity rises – but are clearance rates following suit?

It’s been the busiest week for auctions since the Easter long weekend, with 2,847 homes going under the hammer representing a sharp increase in activity. 

While auction activity was up 38.3 per cent from the previous week, the increased activity has failed to deliver an increase in results, with preliminary clearance rates falling for the fourth week running.

The 64.6 per cent preliminary clearance rate recorded from 2,228 results collected so far has overtaken last week’s preliminary clear of 64.7 per cent as the lowest recorded for the year.

In a sign of the times, every single capital city reported a lower preliminary clearance rate than it had during the same period in 2021, barring Adelaide.

In Melbourne, there was a 40.1 per cent increase in auction activity from the previous week, with 1,268 homes going under the hammer throughout the Victorian capital. A 64 per cent preliminary clearance rate means the city has experienced a 60-basis point drop from the previous week’s preliminary clearance rate of 64.6 per cent. 

Similarly, Sydney experienced a 41.7 per cent increase in auction activity from the previous week, with 934 auctions held throughout the city. A 61.1 per cent preliminary clearance rate means the harbour city is one of two capital cities to report an increase in its previous week’s preliminary clearance rate. 

Amongst the rest of the capital cities, Adelaide reported both the busiest week, with 234 auctions, and the highest preliminary clearance rate of 78.8 per cent. A preliminary clearance rate of 76 per cent from 127 auctions meant that Canberra was the other capital city to record an increase in its preliminary clearance rates from the previous week.

Additionally, 60.3 per cent of Brisbane’s 235 auctions recorded a result, representing a 2.3 percentage point drop in the Queensland capital’s preliminary clearance rate. In Perth, six of the nine results collected so far have been successful, while Tasmania has recorded no successful results so far for the week.