Auction volumes plummet prior to Melbourne Cup

Property research group CoreLogic has found that auction volumes fell 41.5 per cent in the week ending 3 November when compared with the previous week, largely due to a standstill in Melbourne activity in the lead-up to the Melbourne Cup.

The week saw 1,535 capital city homes go under the hammer across the nation, a significant fall from the 2,622 homes taken to auction the previous week, which happened to be the busiest week for auction activity recorded in 2019 so far.

While volumes fell significantly week-on-week, volumes remain largely consistent with those recorded previously in the week leading up to the Melbourne Cup race.

Despite lower volumes, the week still returned a high preliminary clearance rate of 73.6 percent, which was slightly down from last week’s preliminary rate of 75.3 percent.

Melbourne saw a mere 254 homes taken to auction over the week ending 3 November, down from a 2019 record of 1,528 the previous week (ending 7 October). 

CoreLogic suggested that the drop in Melbourne volumes was to be expected in the weekend prior to the Melbourne Cup, as the city geared up from Spring Racing festivities.

Elsewhere, Sydney saw a bump in volumes in the week, with a total of 832 auctions in the NSW capital, up from 771 the previous week.

Sydney’s volumes also increased when compared with the same week last year, which saw 813 homes head to auction.

Overall, volumes across combined capital cities were down from those of the same week last year, in which almost 3,000 homes went under the hammer; however, only 47 per cent of those achieved a sale.

[Related: New home sales bounce, building approvals to follow]