First time ever for three consecutive 1,000 plus auction weekends: RP Data's Melbourne weekend auction preview

Auction volumes remain strong this week with 1,076 expected in Melbourne and 1,154 across Victoria. This is the first time there has been consecutive weekends with over 1,000 auctions in March.

The healthy demand that is present in the auction market is also apparent in the private sales market.

Days on market for houses in Melbourne dropped again this week to 37 from 42 last week. This is consistent with last year’s trend which saw days on market contract from the mid 40’s to 39 in December.

Vendor discounting also dropped again to -5.5% last week. Time on market and vendor discounting metrics are important as they provide a measure of demand in the private sale market.

Buyers will find increased choice over the next few weeks as the listings being prepared for sale were 10% higher in seasonally adjusted terms compared to last year. As this is common to both private and auction property market segments, it will provide a greater test for the market than a weekend of 1,000 auctions.

The highest volume of auctions is in Reservoir where 26 are listed, followed by 23 in Brighton and 20 in Richmond.

Key data 

• Clearance rate week ending 16 March: 67%
• Melbourne auctions expected week ending 23 March: 1,076
• Melbourne private sales time on market week ending 16 March: 37 days (houses)
• Melbourne vendor discounting market week ending 16 March: -5.5% (houses)
• Listings being prepared for market are 10% higher in month ending 16 March