The auctions results in major capital cities continue to delight. Sydney recorded a clearance rate of 75% and Melbourne wasn’t too bad either on 65.1%.
“It’s actually been the strongest start we’ve had to a season since 2010,” senior economist at Australian Property Monitors, Andrew Wilson, said.
“We’re also seeing a consistency in terms of the results over the last five weeks.”
The total value sold in the four cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane on the weekend at auction was $323.2 million. Sydney continues to be the most expensive city, where a four bedroom house in Vaucluse sold for $3.35 million. The most expensive house in Melbourne was in St Kilda, where a four bedroom house sold for $2.28 million.
Wilson says they are seeing an improvement in the prestige market which has, until recently, been a lot flatter than other areas in Sydney. On the weekend, the Eastern Suburbs recorded a clearance rate of close to 90% and Canterbury Bankstown was 100%.
The more affordable areas in the two capital cities where in Mount Druitt, Sydney – a three bedroom house sold for $207,000 – and in Pakenham, Melbourne – a three bedroom house sold for $156,000.
Brisbane is the only market that is not showing big improvements in its clearance rates compared to 12 months ago. But it is difficult to gauge the Brisbane market from auction statistics alone as most properties are not sold at auction. Wilson says it is harder to get a read on that market but it still has some “mountains to climb”.
“It needs to have a pickup in its economy, particularly its unemployment rate, before it starts to get to some of the activity that’s happening in Sydney and Melbourne at the moment,” he said.
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