Coronavirus: Melbourne’s strongest auction suburbs before shutdown
The auction market was chugging along nicely until being all but ground to a halt by COVID-19. But homeowners should take comfort in strong clearance rates going in. SEE OUR TOP 20.
The Melbourne auction market was chugging along nicely until being all but ground to a halt by the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying shutdown measures.
Melbourne’s overall clearance rate in the March quarter was 63.8 per cent, just above the 62.5 per cent recorded by the combined capital cities, behind only Sydney (66.2 per cent) and Canberra (65.1 per cent) of those, CoreLogic’s Quarterly Auction Market Review shows.
Blackburn South was Melbourne’s top-performing suburb, with a stellar 90 per cent recorded from 20 results, followed by Coburg North (85.2 per cent) and Caulfield North (83.3 per cent).
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Clarinda (82.6 per cent), Collingwood (81.8 per cent), South Melbourne (81.5 per cent), Balaclava (81 per cent), Coburg (81 per cent), Hillside (80 per cent) and Ascot Vale (78.8 per cent) rounded out Melbourne’s top 10 for clearances rates to open 2020.
The overall Melbourne figure was up 12 per cent on the March ‘19 quarter, but down 9 per cent from the 72.8 per cent recorded in December.
Our combined capital cities also dropped from 70.3 per cent in the final three months of 2019.
Speaking nationally, CoreLogic’s Australian head of research Eliza Owen said “various pressures” had led to a decline in the latest quarterly result.
“The banning of onsite auctions and open homes have physically prevented some auctions from going ahead or prompted vendors to pull out of the market,” she said.
“Withdrawal rates surged from an average of around 6 per cent to 50.2 per cent in the week ending 29th of March.
“More broadly, the ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer sentiment index plummeted 9.8 per cent over the same week, signifying that rising job losses and uncertainty has dampened property demand.”
The report notes the uncertainties around COVID-19 and the accompanying restrictions had been a hit to the market; the combined capital cities rate dropped to just 37.3 per cent in the last week of March.
“February weekly clearance rates were in the low 70 per cent range for the last three weeks of the month, before revising lower on a weekly basis for the remainder of the quarter,” it states.
Again with a national focus, Ms Owen said before the onset of coronavirus “affordability constraints had already started to slow momentum in the property market”.
“This is reaffirmed by a decline in the combined capital city dwelling growth to 0.7 per cent in the month,” she said.
“Looking ahead, the next few months will present an unprecedented challenge to the auction market and the housing market more broadly. However, once the virus is contained, property is looking increasingly better-placed for a recovery because of the high levels of monetary and fiscal stimulus available.”
Auctions can still be conducted digitally and private sales can continue, with realestate.com.au now offering virtual inspections on the site’s property listings.
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scott.carbines@news.com.au
MELBOURNE’S TOP 20 AUCTION SUBURBS, MARCH 2020 QUARTER
Blackburn South, 90 per cent
Coburg North, 85.2 per cent
Caulfield North, 83.3 per cent
Clarinda, 82.6 per cent
Collingwood, 81.8 per cent
South Melbourne, 81.5 per cent
Balaclava, 81 per cent
Coburg, 81 per cent
Hillside, 80 per cent
Ascot Vale, 78.8 per cent
Lalor, 78.3 per cent
Sandringham, 78.3 per cent
Mulgrave, 77.6 per cent
Aspendale, 77.3 per cent
Burwood East, 76.7 per cent
Box Hill North, 76.5 per cent
Clifton Hill, 76.2 per cent
Ringwood East, 76.2 per cent
Blackburn North, 75.9 per cent
Footscray, 75.9 per cent
*minimum 20 results, CoreLogic
Originally published as Coronavirus: Melbourne’s strongest auction suburbs before shutdown