Jade Harling
18 Dec 2020
Last week was the busiest week for auctions the capital city markets have seen since early April, with a total of 2,580 homes taken to market. Historically we would see auction activity start to taper off dramatically after the second week of December as market activity slows in the lead up to Christmas, however this week we have a total of 2,347 homes scheduled for auction. Over the same week last year, a much lower 909 homes were taken to auction across the capital cities.
Just over half of all scheduled activity this week is in Melbourne, with 1,193 homes scheduled for auction, increasing on the 1,163 last week and the 470 last year.
Auctions this week
Sydney has a lower 763 auctions scheduled over the week after the 1,009 auctions held last week. One year ago, 248 Sydney homes were auctioned over the same week.
Across the smaller cities, scheduled volumes are set to be higher in Adelaide (136), while the remaining cities all have fewer auctions scheduled week-on-week.
Note: this is the final auction report for 2020, we recommence our reporting of the auction market in early February 2021 (pending volumes).
Summary of last weeks results
Last week, the final capital city auction clearance rate improved across higher volumes. There were 2,580 capital city homes taken to auction, returning a final auction clearance rate of 71.1%. This was higher than the 69.9% final clearance rate achieved over the week prior when 2,085 auctions were held. Over the same week last year, a higher 2,804 properties were auctioned with 64.9% recording a successful result.
Capital city auction statistics (Final)- w/e 13 December 2020
In Melbourne, 1,167 auctions were held across the city last week and a final auction clearance rate of 69.7% was recorded. This was an improvement on the 67.7% clearance rate over the week prior when a lower 899 auctions took place. One year ago, 1,405 auctions were held across Melbourne recording a final success rate of 69.3%.
Sydney’s final auction clearance rate came in at 73.1% last week as volumes rose. This was the 8th consecutive week the city has recorded over 70% of homes selling and last week this was tested against higher volumes with 1,009 auctions held, the highest volume seen since early April. Compared to the same week in 2019, a lower 68.8% of Sydney homes sold across a lower 875 auctions.
Weekly clearance rate, combined capital cities
Across the smaller cities, Canberra has been the standout performer over the second half of 2020, consistently achieving clearance rates between the 70-90% range. Last week was no different, with the city recording a final auction clearance rate of 87.1%. Adelaide and Brisbane recorded higher clearance rates over the week of 72.2% and 59.9% respectively. While Perth recorded a lower 55.3% final clearance rate over the week.
