Auction numbers hit three-month high before Aussies pause to mourn the Queen

A bumper weekend of auctions, the biggest in three months, looms as sellers aim for a deal before the pause next week to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth.

Across Australia, 1763 auctions scheduled on Saturday – the most to go under the hammer since June, Domain data shows.

The figure is an increase of 12.4 per cent compared to last weekend.

However, this burst of activity precedes an expected “slight” lull next weekend, after Australians mourn the Queen with a public holiday on Thursday, September 22. Victorians will be treated to another day off on Friday, September 23, the day before the AFL Grand Final.

It is typical for vendors not to pencil in an auction around public holidays, in case prospective buyers are out of town for the break.

The increase in auctions this week shows FOMO in the market – a guiding force when listings were low and buyers were panicking to get a foot in – is becoming a thing of the past.

Buyers are relishing more options.

However, the spot fires this Saturday are limited to the eastern capitals – Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane – which have recorded a week-on-week jump in the number of auctions.

Adelaide and Canberra have less properties going under the gavel compared to last week.

Although this spring is not expected to be the cauldron of huge prices that it was last year, with days on market increasing and interest rates rising giving buyers fewer reasons to lose their heads, auction numbers continue upwards over the longer term.

Auction numbers are 28 per cent higher right now than the five-year average, Domain figures show, which also translates to a 61.3 per cent annual improvement. However, it must be noted that the giant leap over 12 months is due to COVID-related restrictions last year dampening the market.

Domain’s national combined clearance rate last weekend of 59.7 per cent is the highest since April.

Sydney’s auction market is rollicking, making the biggest improvement of all the capitals on its clearance rate last week (which nailed 62.5 per cent, the largest weekly bump since April).

“This highlights that sellers are adjusting their expectations to meet the market,” Domain’s report said.

However, it’s Adelaide which is setting a benchmark for performance, with a 67.8 per cent clearance rate – the highest of all the capitals last Saturday.

Domain’s chief of economics and research Dr Nicola Powell said increasing auction activity can always be expected at this time of the year.

“Over 1,760 homes will go under the hammer this coming Saturday across the combined capitals, which will be the highest number of auctions since June,” Dr Powell said in Domain’s weekly auction preview report.

“This tells us that buyers are becoming more familiar with the new market conditions as well as the current interest rate environment. That being said, we’re expecting a slight fall next week due to next Thursday’s public holiday in remembrance of The Queen and the AFL Grand Final public holiday in Victoria next Friday. Following that, we’ll likely see another rise in the weeks to come.”