According to the latest CoreLogic Property Market Indicator Summary, capital city auction markets recorded the highest preliminary clearance this year, reaching 80.2%. In the week ending on 23 October 2016, the number of homes taken to auction increased to 2,641, compared with 2,443 over the previous week.

“The preliminary clearance rate of 80.2 per cent is the highest recorded for the year so far, up from 76.2 per cent [in the prior week],” noted Cameron Kusher, head of research at CoreLogic.

Over the corresponding week last year, the clearance rate was significantly lower at 64.9%. However, auction volumes were higher as 3,143 auctions were held. Every capital city, with the exception of Perth, recorded a preliminary clearance that was higher than a year ago, while the two largest auction markets, Sydney and Melbourne, recorded a preliminary clearance rate higher than 80% (85.6% and 81.8% respectively).   

In Melbourne, 81.8% of the 1,229 reported auctions sold in the week ending on 23 October. This is the second time in October that the clearance rate for Melbourne was above 80%. A total of 1,378 auctions were held across the city that week, up from 1,182 in the prior week when the final auction clearance rate was 77.7%, and lower than the 1,690 auctions held one year ago, with a lower clearance rate of 69.7%.

In contrast, 866 auctions were held in Sydney in the week ending on 23 October, down from 913 over the previous week. “The preliminary clearance rate of 85.6 per cent is the highest recorded for the year to date. Since the beginning of spring Sydney’s clearance rate has remained above 78 per cent. This week’s clearance rate (85.6 per cent) is up from 81.4 per cent last week; it is significantly higher than this time last year, when a clearance rate of 61.3 per cent was recorded across 1,024 auctions,” noted Kusher.

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