Record auction figures in December

A surge in stock post lockdowns coupled with buoyant market conditions has led to unprecedented levels of auction activity in Australia in the last quarter of 2021. We witnessed record auction figures in December and can anticipate more to come in the first quarter of 2022.

CoreLogic’s Quarterly Auction Market Review shows that 42,918 properties were taken to auction in the combined capital cities in the last few months of 2021, this is an 85.1% increase from the previous quarter and more than double (109.5%) the December 2020 figures.

Several factors resulted in the surge in auctions, including some catch-up from the September quarter when the largest auctions markets were weighed down by the lockdowns as well as a rise in activity following seasonally slower conditions during winter.

CoreLogic’s Research Director Tim Lawless says “Auctions as a way of selling tend to be more popular during a sellers’ market; in this situation buyers are highly competitive and incentivised to outbid rival purchasers in order to secure a property. During cooler market conditions an auction may not attract as many registered bidders or as much competitive bidding.” (Sourced from CoreLogic.com.au)

In Australia’s biggest cities for auctions, Melbourne had 19,788 auctions and a clearance rate of 69.7% for the last quarter of 2021 compared to Sydney where 14,906 auctions were held at a clearance rate of 69.9%.

“The surge in the number of auctions through the final quarter of 2021 was accompanied by a consistent trend towards lower clearance rates, with this trend evident across each of the capital cities,” he says. “The drop in clearance rates implies demand didn’t quite keep pace with the level of auction supply during the quarter.”

In smaller capitals Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra saw a significant increase in volumes compared to Q3 2021 and corresponding quarter in 2020.

Sourced from corelogic.com.au

In the week ending January 23 2022, almost 460 auctions were scheduled across the capital cities which is almost 40% higher compared to the same period only 12 months prior.

“Auction volumes tend to ramp up through early February and move through a seasonal peak in the weeks prior to Easter. Over the medium term we are expecting listing numbers to gradually normalise which should see buyers regaining some leverage in the market over time.  If this is the case, we could see more vendors reverting to private treaty sales rather than auctions as competitive tension amongst buyers eases.”  

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