Auction clearance rate picks up in Sydney and Melbourne ahead of pre-Easter super Saturday
The auction clearance rate improved slightly in both Sydney and Melbourne over the weekend ahead of next weekend’s pre-Easter super Saturday weekend.
Melbourne achieved a clearance rate of 61% over the weekend, compared with 59% last weekend and 59% over the same weekend in 2011.
“The level of demand this weekend is consistent with the performance of the market over the last two months and provides an indication about how it will perform over the winter months,” says Enzo Raimondo, CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.
“From the perspective of auction volumes this fortnight marks the high point for the market this year, with around 1,870 homes expected to be offered for sale,” he says.
Next weekend 1,050 auctions are expected in Melbourne. The following weekend has only 40 auctions scheduled due to the Easter holiday.
St Kilda, the busiest suburb this past weekend with 17 auctions came close to matching the Melbourne average, with a 59% clearance rate. Eight properties sold at auction and two sold ahead of auction, with the most expensive being a four-bedroom unit on Marine Parade that sold for $625,000.
There were fewer buyers willing to meet the reserve price in Richmond, the second busiest Melbourne suburb of the weekend. It managed a clearance rate of just 43%, with six sold and eight passed in. The most expensive property was a four-bedroom house on Griffiths Street that sold for $1.08 million through Biggins Scott.
Kieran Whaley, director of Barry Plant Ivanhoe and Rosanna, tweeted that his team had sold four out of five properties on Saturday, with “all smashing reserves”.
The Melbourne property market performed dependably for yet another week, notes WBP Property Advisory.
“These results are consistent with recent weeks where quality real estate continues to transact because of strong demand and average properties demonstrate difficulty in attracting buyers, resulting in increased pressure on vendors to reduce asking prices.
“This provides a level of predictability and greater certainty regarding price expectations for buyers and sellers,” WBP’s Greville Pabst says.
Sydney’s auction clearance rate improved to 60.3% over the weekend, with 205 properties sold out of 302 auctions. This is up from 56.4% last weekend and slightly up on the 59.6% achieved for the same weekend last year.
The top sale of the weekend was a four-bedroom house on Goodhope Street in Paddington that sold for $4.9 million through McGrath Edgecliff.
The median auction price for houses was $845,000 and $580,000 for units.
Cooley Auctions managed a 52% success rate in Sydney, with 26 out of 50 properties selling over the weekend.
Cooley’s most notable sale was a one-bedroom apartment in Circular Quay with “breathtaking views over Sydney Harbour Bridge” that sold for $1.5 million through Morton & Morton.
Stephen Nell, chief executive of Ray White NSW, tweeted the success of Ray White Castle Hill, which sold three out of a five properties.