National Auction Market Preview - 29 August 2021

There are 2,367 capital city homes currently scheduled to go under the hammer this week, although as usual we may see some downwards revision in the actual number of homes taken to auction amidst ongoing lockdowns and restrictions. Over the previous week, 1,764 auctions were held across the combined capital cities, while this time last year, 1,128 homes were taken to auction.

Auctions this week

While there are currently 1,284 homes scheduled for auction in Melbourne this week, we have been seeing some heavy downwards revision in the actual number of homes taken to auction during the extended lockdown as vendors choose to reschedule to a later date. Over the previous week, there were 876 homes taken to auction, down from the 1,179 originally scheduled, while this time last year 162 auctions were held.

There are 600 homes scheduled for auction in Sydney this week, compared to 514 last week and 706 this time last year.

Across the smaller capital cities, Adelaide is set to host the highest number of auctions over the week (172), followed by Brisbane (164) and Canberra (128). Perth is expecting to see 17 homes taken to auction, while there are just 2 auctions on the radar in Tasmania.

Summary of last weeks results

The combined capital cities recorded a final auction clearance rate of 64.3 per cent last week, the lowest clearance rate we have seen since late September 2020. The drop in clearance rate is largely attributed to a surge in withdrawn auctions in Melbourne over the week. In comparison, the previous week recorded a final clearance rate of 70.0 per cent, while this time last year, 60.0 per cent of auctions were successful. There were 1,764 homes taken to auction across the combined capitals last week, down from the 2,106 originally scheduled. Over the previous week, 1,822 auctions were held across the combined capitals, while this time last year, 1,064 homes were taken to auction.

Capital city auction statistics (Final)- w/e 22 August 2021

There were 876 auctions held across Melbourne last week, down -25.7 per cent from the initial predicted count. Over the previous week, 884 auctions were held, while this time last year, there were 222 auctions held in Melbourne. Of the 867 results collected, 48.0 per cent were withdrawn, dragging the clearance rate down to 49.1 per cent, the lowest clearance rate the city has seen since late September 2020. Of the sold results, 65.7 per cent sold prior to auction, compared to 51.2 per cent over the previous week. In comparison, 32.6 per cent of auctions were withdrawn over the previous week and a final auction clearance rate of 59.9 per cent was recorded. This time last year, 45.0 per cent of reported auctions were successful.

Weekly clearance rate, combined capital cities

In Sydney, 514 homes were taken to auction last week, down just -3.9 per cent from the number originally scheduled. In comparison, the previous week saw 551 homes taken to auction while this time last year, 615 auctions were held across the city. Sydney recorded a final clearance rate of 78.5 per cent last week, down from 81.3 per cent over the previous week, although higher than this week last year (66.1 per cent). Of the sold results, 58.7 per cent were sold prior to auction, similar to the previous week when 58.4 per cent of successful auctions were sold prior to the scheduled auction date.

Across the smaller cities, Adelaide recorded a final auction clearance rate of 90.0 per cent last week, the highest clearance rate on record for the city. In Canberra, 78.6 per cent of reported auctions were successful, followed by Brisbane (72.7 per cent) and Perth (69.2 per cent).

Sub-region auction results

(From: Corelogic)