Property enjoys pick up

Editorial director of Switzer
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Auction clearance rates are starting to return to their long-term average levels and after a big weekend at the end of February, are expected to stay around current levels for the short-term, according to APM head of research Yvonne Chan.

Historical clearance rates

The last weekend of February was a massive week for auctions, according to Chan, who attributed it to the first full week of activity after the long Christmas break.

Over 200 properties were sold in auctions on 2 March, 2013 in Sydney but that number was as high as 325 the previous week. In Melbourne the number sold on March 2 was 183, compared to 516 the previous week.

“[That was] an indication of some confidence level bounce back,” Chan says.

“The auction rate activity should be more consistent from now on.”

Auction Results: Saturday, 2 March 2013

Prices rebound

The most expensive property sold on the weekend was in Paddington in Sydney, where a four bedroom house sold for $3.23 million.

The most expensive house in Melbourne was in Toorak where a four bedroom house sold for $2.075 million. The dearest house in Adelaide sold for $1.14 million and in Brisbane for $735,000.

There is still some good news for first home buyers looking for affordable property, although in NSW they would have to travel over 100km north of Sydney to Budgewoi, where a three-bedroom house sold for $193,000 on Saturday.

In Melbourne the most affordable house was in Dandenong where a three bedroom house sold for $245,000.

More support

RP Data also announced last week that its RP Date-Riskmark Home Value Index for capital cities rose by 0.3% over the month and is 1.3% higher than the same month a year ago.

Sydney was one of the best performers over the year with its index rising by 2.7% in February. Perth was up 3.7% and Darwin 5.9%.

Darwin rental yields were also the strongest, according to RP Data, which has gross rental yield of 6.2% for houses in Darwin and 6.3% for units.

Melbourne yields are the lowest, with 3.6% for houses and 4.4% for units.

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