Melbourne’s Auction Market Slumps as Sydney’s Holds Strong

This week’s auction results saw a drop in volume, returning a preliminary clearance rate of 67.3% – almost identical to the previous week – as Melbourne’s auction market continues to stagnate.

Weekly data released by CoreLogic showed a total of 823 homes were scheduled to go under the hammer across the capital cities, down from 882 the week prior and just over half the amount this time last year – 1,639.

Of the 823 scheduled auctions, a whopping 606 were in Sydney, that figure down slightly on last week’s date but higher than this time last year.

The 606 auctions returned an increase on the previous week’s preliminary clearance rate with 70.4% in a show of strength for Sydney’s auction market.

On the other hand, Melbourne’s endless lockdown continues to hamper its auction market, with a record low of just 14 homes taken to auction last week, returning a preliminary clearance rate of 27.3%.

With results collected for 11 of the 14 auctions (so far), eight were reported as withdrawn, and three sold prior to auction.

In contrast, this time last year saw 826 homes taken to auction in Victoria’s capital, returning a preliminary clearance rate of 74.5%.

Canberra continues to post consistent results, recording the highest preliminary clearance rate across the smaller capitals, with 55 homes scheduled for auction returning a clearance rate of 83%.

Brisbane saw its clearance rate fall by almost 20% from the week before, with 82 scheduled auctions returning a clearance rate of 40.4%, whilst clearance rates in Perth and Adelaide stayed relatively similar.