Nationwide auction markets posted strong results this week, with the combined capitals recording a preliminary clearance rate of nearly 84.0% – even with the substantial hike in listing volume.
This figure far outstrips what was evidenced last year, with the comparable week in 2020 returning a final auction clearance rate of just 67.7%.
According to Dr Andrew Wilson, chief economist at Archistar, the early season auction market is "roaring"; he celebrated the robust result and predicted the momentum will hold.
“A surge in overall new listings this week will be welcome news to buyers eager to engage housing markets,” he said.
In Sydney, the 449 auctions this week returned a preliminary clearance rate of 89.1%, up substantially from the 270 auctions and final clearance rate of 76.7% recorded last week.
“The Sydney auction market reported a remarkable result at the weekend with early season activity now surging to record levels,” said Dr Wilson.
“Saturday’s result was Sydney’s highest weekend clearance rate since May 2015, a record for February and the third highest on record.
“The remarkable clearance rate was achieved despite a surge in auctions with 408 homes listed which was predictably well ahead of the previous weekend’s season-opener and similar to the 402 auctioned over the same weekend last year.”
In Melbourne, a preliminary auction clearance rate of 80.8% was recorded across 592 auctions this week, as compared to the 68.5% clearance rate across 419 auctions seen one year ago.
“Melbourne recorded another boom-time clearance rate on Saturday, and although the 81.6% result was lower than last weekend’s 84.0%, it was higher than the 79.0% reported over the same weekend last year and represented another positive market outcome for most sellers,” said Dr Wilson.
“Sellers are predictably keen to take advantage of current strong conditions with a sharp increase in listings at the weekend – rising from the previous weekends 308 to 523 on Saturday and well ahead of the 381 auctioned over the same weekend last year.”
Of the smaller capital city markets, Canberra returned the highest preliminary clearance rate of 92.7%, followed by Adelaide at 82.8%, Perth at 75% and Brisbane at 74.6%.
According to CoreLogic analysis, the strong auction results signal “further upwards pressure on housing prices amidst extremely tight advertised supply levels and above average buyer demand”.
