Auction clearance rate tops 57 pc in SE Qld
South East Queensland's auction clearance rate hit 57 per cent last week, with an increasing number of vendors being placed in forced sale positions, new data from independent auctioneering firm Jason Andrew Auctioneers (JAA) revealed.
JAA said the percentage of vendors in a forced sale position has been rising since late last year, hitting a high of 88 per cent last week.
Director Jason Andrew said the vast majority of current vendors are citing a strong motivation to sell, including mortgagee in possession (31 per cent), relocation (31 per cent), purchased elsewhere (10 per cent), financial pressure (seven per cent) and divorce (seven per cent).
“This is the highest percentage of forced sales recorded so far this year, although the number has been steadily rising over the past quarter,” Mr Andrew said.
“Buyers are showing they are more than willing to act, with the average shift downwards required for a vendor from their reserve price to achieve a sale under the hammer falling slightly last week to 4.3 per cent.”
“Activity numbers so far this year are far higher than during the same period last year, and encouragingly, the overall clearance rate is sitting at just under 50 per cent, up from the 35 per cent recorded across 2011.”
The company handled 35 auctions last week, and represents around 18 per cent of the region's auction market. Remaining consistent with the previous two weeks, the number of registered bidders per auction was recorded as 1.43, with the percentage of those registered actually making a bid rising slightly to 60 per cent.