Melbourne and Sydney are set for their busiest week in years
Auction schedules across Australia’s capital cities have risen sharply in the week leading into Easter, with activity expected to ease once the long weekend arrives.
“There are 4,163 homes scheduled for auction across the combined capital cities this week, up 49.8% on last week when 2,779 auctions were held,” said Caitlin Fono, research analyst at Cotality. “This week is gearing up to be the busiest auction week since December 2021.”
However, volumes are likely to fall next week because of the Easter break, with 730 capital city homes currently booked for auction.
Melbourne is expected to record the largest number of auctions, with 1,827 homes due to go under the hammer. That is 33.4% higher than last week’s 1,370 and 33.9% above the same week a year ago (1,364). If all auctions proceed, it would be the city’s busiest week since the week ending 26 October last year, when 1,836 homes were scheduled.
Sydney is set for its biggest auction week since December 2021, with 1,691 homes currently listed. That is up 73.1% from last week, when 977 properties went to auction.
Among the smaller capitals, Brisbane is expected to host 275 auctions, up from 200 last week. Adelaide is scheduled for 189 auctions, up from 129, and Canberra has 157 listed, up from 87.
Perth is set for 23 auctions, compared with 15 last week. Tasmania has one auction scheduled for a third consecutive week.
Source: Cotality
Across the combined capitals, 2,779 homes went to auction last week, broadly steady on the 2,790 recorded the previous week and higher than the 2,388 held at the same time last year.
The combined capital city clearance rate fell by 1.6 percentage points to 56.9%, its lowest reading so far this year. The previous week’s clearance rate was 58.5%, while the same week last year recorded 63.2%.
Melbourne led volumes again with 1,370 auctions, up slightly from 1,329 the week before and above 1,221 a year earlier. Its clearance rate was 57.4%, down from 58.4% the previous week and below 64.5% in the comparable week last year.
Sydney recorded 977 auctions, just under the 984 held the prior week and above the 810 held a year ago. Its final clearance rate slipped to 55%, down from 56.1% and also its lowest result so far this year. The same week last year recorded 64.1%.
Brisbane held 200 auctions last week, up from 188 the week before. Adelaide recorded 129, down from 152, and Canberra held 87, down from 119. Perth hosted 15 auctions, down from 17. Tasmania’s single auction was unsuccessful.
In the smaller capitals, Perth posted the highest clearance rate at 66.7% from 15 auctions. Adelaide’s clearance rate was 64.3%, down from 80.3% the week before and its lowest since August last year (63.1%). Brisbane recorded 60%, up from 55.9%, while Canberra recorded 49.4%, down from 53.8%.
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