Auction activity continues to rise

The strong start to the 2024 selling season has continued with last week (ended 18 February) seeing a surge in auction activity.

There were 2,044 auctions held last week, according to CoreLogic, the highest volume so far this year.

Buyer demand has remained robust, with a preliminary clearance rate of 75.4 per cent, though slightly lower than the previous week’s 76.2 per cent (revised to 70.3 per cent in final numbers).

In Sydney, 688 auctions were conducted, achieving a preliminary clearance rate of 81.7 per cent, the highest since mid-October 2021. Meanwhile, Melbourne hosted 961 auctions, with 72.2 per cent resulting in sales, maintaining its clearance rate above 70 per cent year to date, albeit slightly lower than the previous week’s 73.1 per cent.

Among the smaller capitals, Brisbane led with 169 auctions, followed by Adelaide (140), Canberra (74), Perth (nine), and Tasmania (three). Adelaide boasted the highest preliminary clearance rate at 76.1 per cent, followed by Brisbane and Canberra at 74.1 per cent and 55.6 per cent, respectively. Perth and Tasmania reported only one successful auction each so far.

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless commented: “With 2,044 auctions held, this was the highest volume of auctions so far this year. Demand from buyers has kept pace with the pick-up in activity, with the preliminary clearance rate coming in at 75.4 per cent, down slightly from last week (76.2 per cent which revised to 70.3 per cent on final numbers).

“For some context, the preliminary clearance rate settled in the mid-60 per cent range at the end of last year and final clearance rates were in the mid-50 per cent. With the preliminary clearance rate holding above 73 per cent for the past three weeks, it’s probably fair to say the stronger auctions results are attributable to more than early-year seasonality; some confidence has returned to the auction markets amid falling inflation and a growing expectation that lower interest rates later this year could see housing price growth accelerate.”

The coming week is set to see a further pick-up in auction activity with around 2,800 homes currently scheduled to go under the hammer, according to CoreLogic.

[Related: WA sales volumes trending above 5-year averages: CoreLogic]