There were 2,074 capital city homes taken to auction last week, a slight decrease from 2,276 the previous week but higher than the 1,791 auctions held this time last year, CoreLogic reported.
The preliminary clearance rate stood at 72.4%, marginally lower than the previous week’s rate of 72.9%, which was revised down to 65.5% once finalised.
In Sydney, 829 auctions were held with a preliminary clearance rate of 70.7%. This is a drop of 4.3 percentage points from the previous week's 75.0%, which was revised down to 65.5%. The number of auctions slightly increased from 812 the previous week and 724 this time last year.
Melbourne saw 920 homes taken to auction, down from 1,083 the previous week but up from 744 one year ago. Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate rose to 72.9%, an increase of 2.7 percentage points from the previous week's 70.2%, which was revised down to 63.7%. This marks the second highest preliminary clearance rate this year, following the week ending February 11 at 73.1%.
Among smaller markets, Adelaide recorded the highest preliminary clearance rate at 84.7%, followed by Canberra at 76.5% and Brisbane at 66.0%. Brisbane hosted 131 auctions, closely followed by Adelaide with 126. Canberra saw 52 homes taken to auction, while Perth and Tasmania had 13 and 3 auctions, respectively.
This week, around 2,060 homes are expected to go to auction across the combined capital cities.
Caitlin Fono (pictured above), research analyst at CoreLogic Australia, commented on the trends.
“The auction clearance rates are a reflection of current market conditions, with Sydney showing a slight dip while Melbourne’s numbers remain strong,” she said. “The smaller markets, especially Adelaide, continue to perform impressively.
“It’s important to watch these trends closely as they provide valuable insights into the overall health of the housing market and buyer sentiment.”
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