Melbourne auction volumes rise following eased restrictions

Almost two thirds of Melbourne properties taken to auction sold under the hammer last week, despite national volumes slowing, CoreLogic figures show.

The number of online auctions in Melbourne rose last week following the easing of virus restrictions. Aaron Francis/The Australian

Almost two thirds of Melbourne properties taken to auction last week sold under the hammer after the market got back to a form of normality with the return of one-on-one inspections, according to preliminary clearance figures from CoreLogic.

While activity still remains very low in the Victorian capital, there was a slight increase to 57 auctions held over the last week after the state government gave agents the green light to hold private inspections of properties for the first time in eight weeks.

Of the properties taken to market, 63.3 per cent were sold and one third (16) were withdrawn. CoreLogic expects that as restrictions ease across Melbourne, auction numbers will rise substantially.

The national combined capital city preliminary auction clearance rate dipped below 70 per cent for the week due to lower volumes linked to the long weekend in several states and territories. There were 657 homes taken to auction last week, with 69.3 per cent successful.

An uninhabitable deceased estate in Frankston, south east of Melbourne, sold for $105,000 more than its reserve price an online auction on Saturday. It sold to an investor for $245,000.

The agent behind the deal, Ray White Frankston’s George Devic, said the office has been inundated with requests from both buyers and potential sellers since the restrictions were lifted last Sunday.

“Personally this week, I have conducted 19 private one-on-one inspections and we had 110 for our office booked in,” Mr Devic said.

“There are so many people who are needing to purchase; for example those who have recently sold and haven’t been able to inspect to buy their new home.”

“Today’s (Saturday’s) result really backs up the resilience of Australian real estate, and strength of the auction process.”

Two thirds of auction activity which took place across the country last weekend was in Sydney despite the Labour Day long weekend acting as a dampener on numbers. Of the 435 properties taken to auction, 73.2 per cent sold.

Preliminary figures from the property researcher showed more than half of all homes taken to auction in most smaller markets sold last week.

Canberra continued it’s strong streak to achieve the highest result last week of 75.6 per cent from 49 sales. Adelaide and Perth were almost on par, reaching 62.1 per cent from 37 homes and 62.5 per cent from 19 properties respectively. Just shy of half (48.8 per cent) of the 60 Brisbane properties auctioned sold.

No auctions were held in Tasmania last week.

By Sunday morning, CoreLogic had recorded results of 530 of the 657 auctions held across the country. Preliminary figures are likely to be revised lower later in the week as more results are verified.