It was a quiet week on the auctions front with only 453 auctions held across Australian capital cities, compared to 3,400 auctions in the first week of December. However this was to be expected as part of the seasonal slowdown, and is higher than total auction volumes (413) at the same time last year.

Source: RP Dismark
Despite the reducing auction volumes, clearance rates remained high with the weighted average auction clearance rate for the capitals cities combined sitting at 63.3% – compared to 54.8% last year. According to RP Dismark data, Melbourne led the pack with a clearance rate of 78.3% on 105 auctions, with Sydney closely tailing at 76.5%. Meanwhile, Perth lagged behind with a clearance rate of just 33.3%.
While still strong, clearance rates have come down from their peak in August.

Source: RP Dismark
Home values remained strong, with combined average values for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth increasing slightly by 0.2% over the week. This reflects an annual change of 10.1%. Again, Melbourne homes sat at the top of the ladder with a 0.4% increase in value. However, annual changes to Sydney home values remain the highest, with a 13.5% jump in value over the year.

Source: RP Dismark
According to RP Dismark, auction numbers are expected to rise in coming weeks.
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