A quiet Labour Day long weekend: RP Data's Melbourne weekend auction preview

There will be an appreciable drop in auctions over the weekend due to the Labour Day long weekend. RP Data is expecting 291 auctions this coming week in Melbourne.

Whilst the market is going very well – the last fortnight has been remarkably strong – the missing component at this stage is first home buyers. If this sector became active again, sales volumes would rise to historical averages.

Those intending to buy over the next month will welcome the largely stable nature of dwelling values over February. After the new peak was reached in January, house values dropped by 0.3% in February and units rose by 0.4%. This points to a market in a moderate growth phase and shows that the value rise in January has been locked in.

Key data

• Clearance rate week ending March 2: 76.6%

• Melbourne auctions expected week ending March 9: 291

• Melbourne private sales time on market week ending March 2: 56 days (houses)

• Melbourne vendor discounting market week ending March 2: -5.7% (houses)

• Listings being prepared for market are 7.1% higher in month ending March 2

Robert Larocca is Victorian housing market specialist for RP Data.