Flood Of Listings Hits The Auction Market
Clearance rates hold firm despite the deluge.
Clearance rates hold firm despite the deluge.
Auction markets across the country surged this weekend with buyers and sellers enjoying the restriction-free access to housing markets following the easing of covid lockdowns.
The surge in listings had little effect on buyer activity with formidable results continuing in all capitals.
The national weekend clearance rate sat at above 80% for the eighth consecutive weekend and although lower than the previous weekend’s 84.7% is still well above the 73.9% reported over the same weekend last year.
National auction numbers were higher at the weekend – up from the previous Saturday’s 2048 to 2424 – and well ahead of the 1261 auctioned over the same weekend last year.
The Sydney market is back above 80% — bouncing back from the previous weekend’s 77.0% and also above the 79.1% for the same weekend last year.
The results comes despite a lift in auction numbers with 887 homes listed for auction – up on the previous weekend’s 721 and well above the 768 auctioned over the same weekend last year.
Auction numbers were the highest since the lockdown impacted market in early July.
Sydney recorded a median price of $1,900,000 for houses sold at auction at the weekend which was well above the $1,685,000 reported over the previous Saturday and 25.8% higher than the $1,510,000 recorded over the same weekend last year.
Melbourne continued its strong run out of lockdown with a clearance rate of 80.5% over the weekend – similar to the previous weekend’s 80.4% and higher than the 78.0% recorded over the same weekend last year.
A total of 1193 homes were listed for auction at the weekend — higher than the 994 reported over the previous weekend and well above the 395 auctioned over the same weekend last year.
Melbourne recorded a median price of $1,145,000 for houses sold at auction at the weekend which was higher than the $1,048,000 recorded over the previous weekend and 27.4% higher than the $898,500 recorded over the same weekend last year.
Auction markets continue to report strong results for most sellers despite a wave of new listings reflecting the recent end of lockdowns. Buyer depth however will be tested over coming weekends as the end of year rush-to-market by sellers continues.
Data powered by Dr Andrew Wilson, My Housing Market.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual
Philip Lowe’s comments come amid property industry concerns about pressures on mortgage holders and rising rents
Leaders in Australia’s property industry are calling on the RBA to hit the pause button on further interest rate rises following yesterday’s announcement to raise the cash rate to 4.1 percent.
CEO of the REINSW, Tim McKibbin, said it was time to let the 12 interest rate rises since May last year take effect.
“The REINSW would like to see the RBA hit pause and allow the 12 rate rises to date work their way through the economy. Property prices have rebounded because of supply and demand. I think that will continue with the rate rise,” said Mr McKibbin.
The Real Estate Institute of Australia today released its Housing Affordability Report for the March 2023 quarter which showed that in NSW, the proportion of family income required to meet the average loan repayments has risen to 55 percent, up from 44.5 percent a year ago.
Chief economist at Ray White, Nerida Conisbee, said while this latest increase would probably not push Australia into a recession, it had major implications for the housing market and the needs of ordinary Australians.
“As more countries head into recession, at this point, it does look like the RBA’s “narrow path” will get us through while taming inflation,” she said.
“In the meantime however, it is creating a headache for renters, buyers and new housing supply that is going to take many years to resolve.
“And every interest rate rise is extending that pain.”
In a speech to guests at Morgan Stanley’s Australia Summit released today, Governor Philip Lowe addressed the RBA board’s ‘narrow path’ approach, navigating continued economic growth while pushing inflation from its current level of 6.8 percent down to a more acceptable level of 2 to 3 percent.
“It is still possible to navigate this path and our ambition is to do so,” Mr Lowe said. “But it is a narrow path and likely to be a bumpy one, with risks on both sides.”
However, he said the alternative is persistent high inflation, which would do the national economy more damage in the longer term.
“If inflation stays high for too long, it will become ingrained in people’s expectations and high inflation will then be self-perpetuating,” he said. “As the historical experiences shows, the inevitable result of this would be even higher interest rates and, at some point, a larger increase in unemployment to get rid of the ingrained inflation.
“The Board’s priority is to do what it can to avoid this.”
While acknowledging that another rate rise would adversely affect many households, Mr Lowe said it was unavoidable if inflation was to be tamed.
“It is certainly true that if the Board had not lifted interest rates as it has done, some households would have avoided, for a short period, the financial pressures that come with higher mortgage rates,” he said.
“But this short-term gain would have been at a much higher medium-term cost. If we had not tightened monetary policy, the cost of living would be higher for longer. This would hurt all Australians and the functioning of our economy and would ultimately require even higher interest rates to bring inflation back down.
“So, as difficult as it is, the rise in interest rates is necessary to bring inflation back to target in a reasonable timeframe.”
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual