A ‘cracking’ start to 2024 with strong weekend property auction results
It was the second-biggest start since 2008 with 1,671 homes going under the hammer
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More than seven in 10 homes that went to auction on Saturday sold under the hammer, delivering a preliminary national clearance rate of 73.9 percent across the combined capital cities, according to CoreLogic data. The strongest result was seen in Canberra where 80 percent of the 75 homes auctioned were sold. Adelaide recorded a 77.6 percent clearance rate, Sydney 76.3 percent, Melbourne 71.9 percent and Brisbane 68.5 percent.
Impressive clearance rates were also recorded in regional areas. Newcastle and Lake Macquarie hosted 37 auctions with a 77.8 percent clearance. The Gold Coast saw 126 homes go to auction with a clearance of 65.3 percent. For perspective, a clearance rate of 60 percent reflects normal market conditions, with anything above this indicating strong selling conditions and high buyer demand.
Australia’s biggest agency network, Ray White, also reported a 74 percent clearance rate for the 387 auctions it conducted on Saturday. The company said the market was roaring back in 2024, with the number of buyers attending open inspections up by 24 percent since 1 January compared to the same period last year.
CoreLogic said the first major week of auctions had set a “cracking pace” for the market in terms of volume and sales success. Saturday was the second-biggest start to a new year’s auction season since CoreLogic began keeping records in 2008. A total of 1,671 homes went to auction across the capital cities. CoreLogic economist Kaytlin Ezzy said the clearance rates in Sydney and Melbourne represented “a sizeable step change” compared to the end of last year.
“Overall, it looks like auction markets are starting the year on a strong footing,” Ms Ezzy said. “Potentially, the news of low inflation and the possibility of early rate cuts is already boosting sentiment. The next few weeks should provide further guidance on whether this strong result is simply some early-year exuberance or a trend that can persist.”
Last week the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed inflation fell to 4.1 percent in December, lower than the expected forecast of 4.5 percent, representing a two-year low. Prior to the figures being released, most economists were predicting that interest rates could start to fall by September this year.
The first interest rate decision by the Reserve Bank will be announced at 2.30pm today. Following on from changes signalled last year in the way the rate decision is announced, Governor Michele Bullock will conduct a press conference to explain the board’s decision and answer questions from journalists at 3.30pm.
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Australia’s housing challenge is increasingly about conversion: moving approved projects through finance, commencement and completion.
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Australia’s housing debate often treats a development approval as though it were a completed home. In practice, the distance between those two milestones can stretch for years—and a growing number of projects never cross it.
The National Housing Supply and Affordability Council reported in August that approximately 308,000 homes had been completed since the Housing Accord period began, roughly one quarter of the national target. It also identified 244,000 dwellings under construction in the March quarter, the largest pipeline recorded since 1984, while approvals and commencements had improved against their pre-Accord comparisons.
Those numbers show activity, but they also expose the conversion challenge. A planning consent establishes what may be built. It does not lock in the price of labour and materials, guarantee a construction loan or persuade enough buyers to sign unconditional contracts.
For apartment developers, the first hurdle is feasibility. Land, consultant, authority, finance and construction costs must be covered by realistic sales revenue. When building prices rise faster than achievable apartment values, a project can be approved and still be economically unbuildable.
The second hurdle is debt. Financiers typically require substantial equity, a fixed or sufficiently certain building contract and presales to acceptable purchasers. Valuers may discount speculative pricing, while lenders can treat contracts with long settlement periods or highly concentrated buyer profiles cautiously.
Presales form the third constraint. Owner-occupiers may prefer to see construction under way before committing; developers often need commitments before construction can begin. This circular dependency is particularly difficult for first-time developers and projects in untested locations.
The practical metric for policymakers and the industry is therefore not approvals in isolation, but conversion: how many approved dwellings progress to finance, commencement and completion, and how long each step takes.
There are no simple fixes. Faster planning can reduce holding costs, but cannot rescue an unviable scheme. Government-backed finance can help suitable projects, but should not disguise unrealistic land values. Standardised design and modern construction methods may improve productivity, provided procurement risk and quality control are addressed.
For buyers, an approval or sales launch should be viewed as the start of the delivery process—not proof that a home will exist on schedule. The most relevant questions concern finance, builder appointment, sunset provisions, deposits and the developer’s record of completing comparable projects.
Australia has made progress in filling the front end of the housing pipeline. The next challenge is getting those homes out the other end.
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