Perth auctions notch largest increase in quarterly clearance rate: CoreLogic
A total of 20,653 homes went under the hammer across Australia’s combined capital cities in the three months to September 2018 - the lowest volume of auctions recorded in a quarter since the March 2017 quarter.
In the March 2017 quarter 19,241 homes went to auction, according to CoreLogic data.
The September 2018 quarter was down from 25,824 homes auctioned over the previous June quarter, and much lower compared to the 27,953 homes that went to auction in 2017’s September Quarter although there was an extra weekend of auctions which would account for some of the difference.
The combined capital city clearance rate fell to 53.6% over the quarter, down - 4.2% from the previous quarter; making it the lowest quarterly clearance result since December 2012 (50.9%).
CoreLogic analysts noted: "Perth saw the largest increase in clearance rates over the quarter, up 5.7%, followed by Adelaide with a modest 0.1% improvement.
"All other capitals saw the clearance rate drop, with Tasmania recording the largest quarterly fall (down -7.1%), although low volumes in Tasmania means the clearance rate can be volatile.
"Canberra fell -6.6%, followed by Sydney (-5.1%) and Melbourne (-4.6%), while Brisbane showed little change over the quarter (-0.1%)."
The highest clearance rate was recorded over the week ending 22nd July (57.0% across 1,257 auctions), while the lowest clearance rate was recorded over the week ending 30th September (45.8% across 895 auctions).
Auction market review highlights:
Capital city auction clearance rate & volumes
| Sydney | 50.9% | 7,497 auctions |
| Melbourne | 56.6% | 9.629 auctions |
| Brisbane | 42.7% | 1,401 auctions |
| Adelaide | 60.7% | 947 auctions |
| Perth | 36.9% | 322 auctions |
| Tasmania | 50.0% | 39 auctions |
| Canberra | 60.3% | 818 auctions |
| Combined capitals | 53.6% | 20,653 auctions |
- Highest number of auctions for the quarter across capital city suburbs
- Based on total auctions held across the suburb over the reporting period
| Melbourne | RESERVOIR | 175 |
| Sydney | Randwick | 99 |
| Brisbane | Sunnybank Hills | 46 |
| Canberra | Ngunnawal | 30 |
| Adelaide | Prospect | 18 |
| Perth | Fremantle | 8 |
- Highest clearance rate for the quarter by capital city suburbs
- Clearance rates are calculated when there has been at least 20 auction results reported over the period
| Canberra | Narrabundah 85.7% (captured results: 21, scheduled auctions: 26, number sold: 18) |
| Melbourne | Wheelers Hill 81.4% (captured results: 43, scheduled auctions: 48, number sold: 35) |
| Sydney | Bondi 80.6% (captured results: 31, scheduled auctions: 41, number sold: 25) |
| Brisbane | Calamvale 47.8% (captured results: 23, scheduled auctions: 23, number sold: 11) |
Across the non-capital city markets, auction volumes fell across all five regions over the September quarter when compared to both the previous quarter and the same time last year.
Clearance rates have fallen over the quarter for the Sunshine Coast (-2.2%) and Geelong (-1.6%), while the Hunter, Wollongong and Gold Coast regions have all seen some improvement when compared to the previous quarter.
Geelong was once again the top performer for clearance rates with a 68.6% success rate across 402 auctions, while the Gold Coast hosted the most auctions over the three months to September 2018 (597).