Australia's Capital Cities see Decline in Auction Performance

CoreLogic reports that Australia’s combined capital city auction clearance rates dropped to just 43.6% in the 3 months to December 2018, down from 53.6% over the previous quarter and 62.3% over the same period a year prior.

The lowest weekly clearance rate for the quarter was recorded over the week ending 16 December (40% across 2,406 auctions), while the highest clearance rate was recorded over the week ending 7 October (49.5% across 1,817 auctions).

Individual capital cities saw a decline in clearance rates everywhere except Tasmania, which remained unchanged at 50%. The largest fall in clearance rates was seen across Canberra (decreased 13.4% from the previous quarter), followed by Adelaide (-12.2%), Perth (-11.9%) and Melbourne (-11.2%).

Activity actually increased over the December quarter with 25,894 homes taken to auction across the combined capital cities (up from 20,653 over the September quarter). However, in comparison to the asme period last year when 32,408 homes were taken to auction, current volumes remain much lower.

Auction market review highlights:

Capital city auction clearance rate & volumes: