Capital city auction volumes down 32%

According to the latest data from property research group CoreLogic, there were 1,196 auctions held across the combined capital cities in the week ending 10 March, down from 2,201 held in the previous week.

CoreLogic stated that the week-on-week decline was due to the fact that four of Australia’s states and territories had public holidays on the coming Monday (11 March).

However, when compared with the previous corresponding period in 2018, auction volumes dropped by over 32 per cent, from 1,746.

Further, the preliminary auction clearance rate across the combined capital cities rose to 52.2 per cent week-on-week, up from 50.4 per cent, but dropped 11.1 percentage points from 63.3 per cent over the same period last year.

Preliminary clearance rates rose in the two largest markets, Sydney and Melbourne, rising to 58.2 per cent and 53.5 per cent, respectively. However, volumes were lower week-on-week, falling to 702 in Sydney and 215 in Melbourne.

Across the smaller auction markets, the highest clearance rate was in Adelaide (55.3 per cent), followed by Brisbane (31.3 per cent), Canberra (27.8 per cent), and Perth (27.3 per cent).

Moreover, when assessed by property type, units outperformed houses in the week ending 10 March, with 55.4 per cent of units selling at auction, compared with 50.8 per cent of houses sold across the combined capital cities.

The data also revealed that over the week to 10 March, the value of homes declined by 0.1 per cent in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, while increasing by 0.1 per cent in Brisbane and remaining stable in Perth.

According to the latest CoreLogic figures, national dwelling values fell by 6.3 per cent in the 12 months to February 2019, largely spurred by a 7.6 per cent decline across Australia’s capital cities, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne where home prices declined by 10.4 per cent and 9.1 per cent, respectively.

 [Related: Attack on ‘housing tax’ renewed amid recession fears]