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- Hungry buyers gobbled up 80 per cent of the 19,004 homes taken to auction across the combined capital cities in the first quarter of the year as prices have soared
- CoreLogic’s weekly auction clearance rate across the combined capitals has been at or above 80 per cent just five times since 2008, and four of those were in March 2021
- The week ending March 28, 2021, recorded the highest auction clearance rate on record (83.1 per cent), while also being the busiest week for auctions since late March 2018
- CoreLogic Head of Research Australia Eliza Owen said the strength in auctions clearance rates through the March quarter corroborate the rise in demand seen across the market more broadly as values shoot up
- Owen says the market has been spurred on by record-low mortgage rates, swiftly improving economic conditions, and a sense of scarcity as total listings across the country remain 26.0 per cent below the five-year average
Hungry buyers gobbled up 80 per cent of the 19,004 homes taken to auction across the combined capital cities in the first quarter of the year as prices have soared.
The 80 per cent clearance rate is up from 69.4 per cent in the December 2020 quarter and 62.5 per cent in the March quarter of 2020, according to CoreLogic’s Quarterly Auction Market Review released today.
CoreLogic’s weekly auction clearance rate across the combined capitals has been at or above 80 per cent just five times since 2008, and four of those were in March 2021.
The week ending March 28, 2021, recorded the highest auction clearance rate on record (83.1 per cent), while also being the busiest week for auctions since late March 2018.
Looking at auction volumes, there were 19,004 homes taken to auction across the combined capital cities over the three months to March 2021, compared to 20,489 over the December quarter and 18,902 this time last year.
CoreLogic Head of Research Australia Eliza Owen said the strength in auctions clearance rates through the March quarter corroborate the rise in demand seen across the market more broadly as values shoot up.
“This was illustrated through the month of March, when the combined capital cities saw a record high clearance rate of 83.1 per cent, against 3840 scheduled auctions (the highest volume since March 2018),” she said.
Owen said the market has been spurred on by record-low mortgage rates, swiftly improving economic conditions, and a sense of scarcity as total listings across the country remain 26.0 per cent below the five-year average.
“Sub-market performance across Sydney and Melbourne also echo some interesting housing market trends, such as the desirability of lifestyle markets, which is reflected in especially high clearance rates across the Illawarra (85.1 per cent), the Mornington Peninsula (86.1 per cent), and the Central Coast (86.7 per cent),” Eliza said.
“The Mornington Peninsula and Central Coast also had among the largest year-on-year increase in the clearance rate, up from 50 per cent and 46.2 per cent respectively.”
Perth has also seen a significant rise in auction clearance rates from the same time last year, with a 67.2 per cent clearance rate from 187 auctions in the March 2021 quarter dwarfing the 35.1 per cent clearance rate from 287 properties for the March 2020 quarter.
Similar to the rest of the nation, property listings in the state are significantly lower than at the same time last year, with the Real Estate Industry of Western Australia noting listings for sale in March were down 32.9 per cent when compared to the same time last year.
The industry body now expects property prices to rise 15 per cent this year, on the back of affordable housing prices, buyers wanting to take advantage of low interest rates and an increase in consumer confidence.
The strongest auction markets reflect a resurgence in demand at the high end of the Sydney dwelling market, including the North West, North Shore and the Northern Beaches regions, according to CoreLogic.
This coincides with an 8.8 per cent increase in values in the high end of the Sydney dwelling market through the March quarter.
“Interestingly, smaller, less traditional auction markets such as Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide have also sustained very high clearance rates through the start of 2021,” Owen said.
“In the coming quarters, we might expect auction volumes and clearance rates to ease. As with private treaty listings, auction volumes usually see a seasonal dip through cooler months. Auction clearance rates may also be tested as rising values create affordability constraints.”
