Auction result strength continues in last big weekend before Christmas

Auction result strength continues in last big weekend before Christmas
Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

The last big auction weekend before Christmas saw continued strong listing and buying activity across Melbourne.

Some 1,394 Melbourne homes were taken to auction, returning a preliminary clearance rate of 73 percent.

The top sale was 3A St Martins Close, Kooyong (pictured main) which fetched $2.99 million, with six registered parties.

The contemporary four bedroom, three bathroom home sold through Marshall White whose price guide had been $2.1 million to $2.3 million.

It was built two years ago on its 509 sqm block.

Melbourne's cheapest sale was $175,000 when the studio apartment at 32/22-28 Canterbury Street, Flemington (below) was sold.

Auction result strength continues in last big weekend before Christmas

It had been listed with $170,000 to $180,000 having sold earlier this year at $172,000.

Edward Thomas selling agent Evie Glentzes said the top floor apartment had been recently "refreshed."

It had been a $230 a week rental.

Over the previous week, a higher 1,520 homes were taken to auction across Melbourne, returning a 73 percent final clearance rate, according to CoreLogic.

Over the same week last year, a much lower clearance rate of 44 percent was recorded across 1,173 auctions.

There were 846 homes taken to auction across Sydney this week, down on the week prior when 976 auctions were held.

Preliminary results show a clearance rate of 73 percent, which was around last week’s final result.

One year ago, 723 auctions were held across Sydney returning a final clearance rate of only 38 percent.

The top sale in Sydney was at Dural when the Duralong acreage estate (below) fetched $5.08 million with four registered bidders.

Auction result strength continues in last big weekend before Christmas

The two hectare holding with five bedroom, five bathroom home is set within manicured gardens with inground saltwater pool and championship size tennis court .

The 7 Wyoming Road home sold through Kate Lumby and Will Hampson having last sold six years ago for $3.025 million.

The weekend listings were much higher than anticipated, the boss of SQM Research Louis Christopher noted for what, effectively, was the last auction weekend of 2019.

"It has been an eventful one for the housing markets," he noted, saying a "V shaped recovery" came with the bottom of the market occurring immediately after the May election.

Both Sydney and Melbourne saw strong" finishes to the year, the chief economist at AMP Capital Shane Oliver said. 

Melbourne has around 240 scheduled auctions for next Saturday December 21, with 120 offerings in Sydney, according to Domain, although many agents will seek to find a buyer ahead of auction, or withdraw the property from auction if buyer interest is not sufficient.

The final week of auction reporting for the year saw the national combined capital city clearance rate drop just below 70 per cent, with the CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless advising volumes were seeing their usual seasonal taper.

There were 2,750 homes taken to auction across the combined capital cities this week, with volumes down by 5.6 percent on last week’s 2,912 auctions.

Auction result strength continues in last big weekend before Christmas

Preliminary results show a clearance rate of 69 percent, after last week’s final clearance rate of 71.1%.

One year ago, 2,406 auctions were held across the combined capitals, with only 40 percent returning a successful result.

The smaller capital cities returned varied results, with Adelaide coming in with the highest preliminary clearance rate of 60 percent, while only 34 percent of Perth homes sold at auction.

There was a 45 percent success rate in Brisbane. It was 57 percent in Canberra.

The nation's cheapest sale was $126,000 when LJ Hooker sold a one bedroom unit at 31/22 Mowatt Street, Queanbeyan East.

The 33 sqm space had last been up for rent at $190 a week three years ago.

"Auction activity won't pick up in earnest until February," Lawless said.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

Editor's Picks