As 2014 draws to a close, it’s time to bring out the annual report card for the auctions market.
Research house RP data says this year was a “stronger year” for auctions than 2013.
Despite the auctions market cooling in recent weeks, with one week left to go for the year, the overall clearance rate in 2014 stands at 68%, compared to 66.2% last year.
“With the exception of Melbourne and Perth, the clearance rate has risen in each capital city,” says RP Data housing market specialist, Robert Larocca.
This week, the average clearance rate across the capital cities was 65.2% compared to 63.7% last week.
Weekly clearance rate, combined capital cities
Source: RP Data
Market heavyweight – Sydney – experience a jump in its clearance rate from 66.1% last week, to 71.2% this week.
“The Sydney auction market has delivered very good outcomes for sellers this year with a higher clearance rate and number of sales,” says Larocca.
“The clearance rate for 2014 is likely to be close to 74.5%, higher than 72.7% last year.”
Melbourne’s clearance rate came in at 65.9% this week, on par with last week’s 66%.
It is expected that Melbourne will only experience a marginally lower clearance rate in 2014, around 68.6% compared to last year’s 69.2%.
What you need to know for 2015
The capital cities might lose some of their puff after a big boom period, and that means they are no longer the only place to find good growth in property.
Property expert Margaret Lomas says to invest well in the New Year, you need to “get back to grass roots and buy to satisfy the coming demand.”
And if you’re a long-term investor, Adelaide, Perth and the larger regional centres just outside of Brisbane look to be the growth centres of tomorrow.
She says these are “areas which can withstand the short-term economic instability and sit ready to grow well once stability returns.”
“While rental yields are continuing to increase, this can mean that, while you wait for the cycle to begin its upswing, you can hold an asset, which will care for itself financially (by giving you sufficient rent to cover your outgoings) while you wait for growth to start.”
Read more of Lomas’ insights on Switzer Home Loans. [1]
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