Capital city auctions start to cool

While the market may be cooling as we head towards winter, it’s still worth noting the past week’s activity was far higher than the figures from this time in 2020, when only 41.1 per cent of 413 auctions found buyers, with much of the nation’s auction activity dampened at the time by restrictions around onsite auctions and inspections.

In the latest data, houses continued their popularity run by outperforming units, accounting for 1,620 of the total capital city auctions recorded, and witnessing a preliminary clearance rate of 79.6 per cent. In comparison, there were only 421 units taken to auction, from which a lower 74.7 per cent were cleared.

Despite the higher figure for houses, they have not been immune to the auction market slowdown, with the preliminary figure falling below 80 per cent for the first time throughout the year, according to CoreLogic.

City-by-city results

Zooming in on the capital cities, Canberra emerged with the highest preliminary clearance rate at 97.7 per cent, followed by Sydney with 82.1 per cent, Brisbane with 76.2 per cent, Melbourne with 76.1 per cent and Adelaide with 72.5 per cent.

Melbourne recorded the highest number of auctions at 925, followed by Sydney with 777.

Other capital cities have far fewer auctions recorded, with Adelaide at 167, Brisbane at 105, Canberra at 55, Perth at nine (unsurprising given the city’s three-day lockdown that began at midnight, Saturday, 24 April) and Tasmania at three.

Home values

Looking at the weekly change in home values, CoreLogic pointed to a 0.5 per cent growth in combined capital city values over the week ending 25 April 2021, with Sydney and Adelaide leading the charge at a 0.5 per cent per cent rise, followed by Melbourne and Brisbane with 0.4 per cent, and Perth with 0.3 per cent.

Month-on-month data saw Sydney maintain its lead with a 2.2 per cent increase. It was followed by Adelaide with 1.8 per cent, Brisbane with 1.7 per cent, Melbourne with 1.3 per cent and Perth with 1.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, year-to-date changes pointed to Sydney still winning the race, further widening its gap from other capital cities with a rise of 8.7 per cent. Brisbane followed with 6.3 per cent, then Melbourne with 6.1 per cent, Perth with 5.8 per cent and Adelaide with 4.9 per cent.

Over the most recent four-week period, Sydney and Canberra clocked the highest capital city private treaty median price for houses at $875,000 and $850,000, respectively. Sydney also held the pole position for units, with a private treaty median of $660,000, while Melbourne followed with an average figure of $570,000.

On the other hand, Adelaide was the most affordable capital city for houses, with the private treaty median price sitting at $510,000. Darwin has taken the crown for most affordable units – with median prices sitting at $295,000.

Private treaty sales represent around 85 per cent of all dwelling sales across the country, according to CoreLogic.

Average time on market for houses was shortest in Sydney at 26 days, followed by Hobart (28), Melbourne (29), Adelaide (30), Perth (32), Darwin (34) and Canberra (34). Brisbane had the longest time on market at 34 days.

For units, Hobart recorded the lowest number at 21 days, while Brisbane was the highest at 49 days, followed by Darwin (41), Melbourne (39), Canberra (37), Sydney (37), Perth (36) and Adelaide (33).

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