Valentine’s Day may have encouraged buyers to seek out their beloved home over the weekend, with the national clearance rate lifting to 70%, compared to 67.3% the previous week.
Research house CoreLogic RP Data says the market has performed on trend this week and that results between now and the Labour Day long weekend in early March should tell us how the auction market is set to perform in 2015.
Weekly clearance rate, combined capital cities
Sydney’s clearance rate was the strongest at the weekend, with 77.9% of all captured auction results cleared, compared to 80.6% the previous week. RP Data says Sydney market results don’t appear to be showing any signs of slowing up, following a stellar performance in 2014.
Melbourne’s clearance rate improved on last week’s at 67.4%, up from 66.3%.
For those houses sold at private treaty, Sydney’s median price stands at $690,000, while Melbourne’s median house is $480,000. Across the combined capitals, the median house price is $542,338. These results are calculated by RP Data over the most recent four-week period.
Capital city private treaty median prices
What will a record low cash rate mean for property?
Head of research at CoreLogic RP Data, Tim Lawless, says that the recent interest rate cut from 2.50% to 2.25% shouldn’t result in property prices getting too out of control.
Lawless says that there are many other factors working to moderate the stimulus of lower rates.
“Lower consumer confidence, stricter serviceability requirements for borrowers, tighter lending conditions for investors, affordability challenges and low rental yields are all factors that may contribute to the ongoing moderation in housing market conditions over 2015.”
He says the ideal result, in the Reserve Bank’s eyes, is that housing conditions will pull back to more sustainable levels, while we continue to see enough demand so that dwelling construction, along with new home sales, remains at reasonable levels.
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