Auctions record early start as selling remains strong

Campaigns have begun early this year as sellers look to take advantage of price momentum before an expected rate rise.

Real Estate Agent and Auctioneer Eddy Piddington during an auction at 42 Headland Rd, North Curl Curl on Saturday. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Auction campaigns have begun an early ramp-up as sellers look to offload at the start of the year and take advantage of price momentum before an expected rate rise.

The number of properties offered on the auction block more than doubled week-on-week to 1,160 homes. Despite more choice, active buyers snapped up near three quarters (74.1 per cent) of those properties on CoreLogic’s preliminary count.

CoreLogic’s director of research Tim Lawless said seller confidence looks to have improved from the end of last year, with 29 per cent of successful capital city auctions selling prior to the event, down from 36 per cent through December. Withdrawals were also down to 11 per cent of properties offered, lower than last month (14 per cent).

“Overall, a strong result considering the weakening trend seen through November and December last year,” Mr Lawless.

“Next week, CoreLogic is expecting around 1,700 capital city properties to be auctioned. As activity increases, we should get a firmer reading on the fit between buyers and sellers.”

Melbourne hosted the most auctions this week (393 properties), achieving a preliminary clearance rate of 68.4 per cent. On early count in Sydney, 70.5 per cent of the 326 homes offered found a buyer.

The smaller capitals continued to outperform. Brisbane reported an initial clearance rate of 81.5 per cent from 152 properties and Adelaide proved even stronger at 83.6 per cent sold from 194 homes.

Seventy-nine homes were offered in Canberra last week, of which 82.3 per cent sold on the first count. Perth recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 58.3 per cent from 15 properties.

This time last year, 884 homes were placed on the hammer, achieving a similar national clearance rate of 77.2 per cent.

One of the most significant under-the-hammer deals this week was the $12m sale of a five-bedroom, four-bathroom modern family home in Bellevue Hill, in Sydney’s affluent eastern suburbs.

The auctioneer behind the current 2022 auction record, Ray White New South Wales chief auctioneer Alex Pattaro, said the Sydney property market had taken off from where it was left last year.

“We’re continuing to see growing open home attendance, despite talk of a looming interest rate rise,” Mr Pattaro said.

“This should give sellers confidence that the market remains buoyant and property prices remain at record levels. With many more properties set to hit the market throughout February, it is an exceptional time to transact, whether you are a buyer or a seller.”

On the ground, Ray White noted larger than usual buyer numbers on Saturday across the country, with six average registered bidders booked nationally across the group and 3.2 of them actively bidding. More than 75 per cent were local, while 3.4 per cent were international buyers.