New Auction Year Kicks Off Early
Eager sellers look to get a head start on the market.
Eager sellers look to get a head start on the market.
As sellers look to get a head start on the rest of the market, the property auction market has kicked into gear earlier than usual.
Of the 448 homes listed nationally for auction over the past week, 66.8% sold according to data from CoreLogic.
The auction volume for the first major weekend of the year was significantly higher than the previous corresponding weekend at almost double the same time last year — with 244 properties auctioned.
CoreLogic predicts the number of homes taken to auction will continue to rise over the coming weeks, with over 1150 auctions expected to be held next week, compared to 884 over the same week last year.
In Sydney, a total of 79 homes hit the market — compared to 47 this time last year — of which 60 have been recorded and 58.3% of those auctions were successful.
Melbourne proved the busiest auction capital this week with 144 properties listed for auction.
With 100 results taken at the time of writing, 64% reported a successful result — on par with the average final clearance rate through December.
Over the same week last year, 127 homes were auctioned across the Victorian capital.
The push for sellers to get a jump on the market follows on from a record December quarter in 2021.
CoreLogic’s Quarterly Auction Market Review recorded 42,918 properties were taken to auction across the combined capital cities in the three months to December 2021.
The numbers equate to an 85.1% increase from the previous quarter and a 109.5% lift from the December 2020 figures.
In Australia’s two biggest auction markets, Melbourne had 19,788 auctions and a clearance rate of 69.7% for the December quarter compared to Sydney with 14,906 auctions and a clearance rate of 69.9%.
Across all capitals, the quarterly clearance rate of 71.3% was fractionally down on the previous quarter’s 71.7%
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
Capital cities lead the way as median home values see clear upswing
Home values continue their upwards trajectory, recording the strongest monthly growth in 18 months, CoreLogic data shows.
The property data provider reports that their Home Value Index has noted a third consecutive rise in values in May, accelerating 1.2 percent over the past month. This is on the back of a 0.6 percent increase in March and 0.5 percent rise in April.
Sydney recorded the strongest results, up 1.8 percent, the highest recorded in the city since September 2021. The fall in Sydney’s home values bottomed in January but have since accelerated sharply by 4.8 percent, adding $48,390 to the median dwelling value.
Melbourne recorded more modest gains, with home values increasing by 0.9 percent, bringing the total rise this quarter to 1.6 percent. It was the smaller capitals of Brisbane (up 1.4 percent) and Perth (up 1.3 percent) that reported stronger gains.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said the lack of housing stock was an obvious influence on the growing values.
“Advertised listings trended lower through May with roughly 1,800 fewer capital city homes advertised for sale relative to the end of April. Inventory levels are -15.3 percent lower than they were at the same time last year and -24.4 percent below the previous five-year average for this time of year,” he said.
“With such a short supply of available housing stock, buyers are becoming more competitive and there’s an element of FOMO creeping into the market.
“Amid increased competition, auction clearance rates have trended higher, holding at 70 percent or above over the past three weeks. For private treaty sales, homes are selling faster and with less vendor discounting.”
Vendor discounting has been a feature in some parts of the country, particularly prestige regional areas that saw rapid price rises during the pandemic – and subsequent falls as people returned to the workplace in major centres.
The CoreLogic Home Value Index reports while prices appear to have found the floor in regional areas, the pace of recovery has been slower.
“Although regional home values are trending higher, the rate of gain hasn’t kept pace with the capitals. Over the past three months, growth in the combined capitals index was more than triple the pace of growth seen across the combined regionals at 2.8% and 0.8% respectively,” Mr Lawless said.
“Although advertised housing supply remains tight across regional Australia, demand from net overseas migration is less substantial. ABS data points to around 15% of Australia’s net overseas migration being centred in the regions each year. Additionally, a slowdown in internal migration rates across the regions has helped to ease the demand side pressures on housing.”
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