Hammer becomes tool of choice as buyers rush in

Traditionally quiet auction markets in Brisbane and Adelaide are heating up in line with soaring property values.

Chris and Melissa Ogden, with Bruce, have listed their Queenslander in Camp Hill, Brisbane. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Homeowners Chris and Melissa Ogden are among a slew of sellers choosing to put their home under the hammer in the traditionally quiet auction markets of Brisbane and Adelaide.

“It can only be good for us if there are more people competing for single properties,” Mr Ogden said.

The number of properties being placed on the auction block as a percentage of total property ­listings has more than doubled in both markets over the past three months compared with the previous year, according to Core­Logic.

The firm’s research executive, Tim Lawless, said the smaller capital cities aversion to auction when compared to Sydney and Melbourne may simply be “a cultural phenomenon”. But high clearance rates and strong numbers suggest the tide is changing.

“The trend (towards auction) isn’t surprising considering how fast values are rising and the shortage of advertised housing stock,” Mr Lawless said. “Under such strong selling conditions where competition among buyers is extreme and housing values are rising rapidly, the competitive bidding environment of an auction could see vendors securing a better outcome for their sale price.”

The 35-year-old Brisbane vendors have sold at auction before and plan on moving closer to family in the city’s east.

Clearance rates across Brisbane and Adelaide have been tracking around record highs over recent weeks. Adelaide clearance rates have held around the early-to-mid 80 per cent range since late January when CoreLogic restarted reporting auction results for 2021, almost double the long-term average.

Ray White’s South Australia chief executive, Matthew Lindblom, said the fact clearance rates in the city had hit record highs proved confidence in the market.

“Our numbers, on average, are up seven to nine extra registered bidders on last year and we’ve had examples of upwards of 30 and 40 registered bidders on a single property,” Mr Lindblom said.

“There’s so much buyer interest from the likes of Melbourne and Sydney buying Adelaide and regional South Australian properties.”

The number of successful auctions nationally has helped drive broadbased prices rises. Prices in some parts of Australia have risen over 15 per cent over the past three months as Australians take advantage of strong selling conditions, attractive incentives and low rates.

Adelaide recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 87.9 per cent across 101 auctions while in Brisbane saw 65.2 per cent across 110 auctions, according to figures ­released by CoreLogic on Sunday.

A preliminary clearance rate of 83.2 per cent was recorded across all capital cities at the weekend, a slight dip compared to the previous week.