Belconnen district leads Canberra's auction market with high clearance rates

The cooler months haven’t dampened sales in Belconnen with the north-west district leading Canberra’s Saturday auction market.

The region has surged ahead of the rest of the territory with multiple weekend clearance rates of 100 per cent, according to Domain Group data.

Belconnen’s average Saturday clearance rate of 83.75 per cent since the beginning of June is about 14 percentage points ahead of the territory’s next-strongest performer, the Canberra central region at 69.28 per cent. The latter encompasses Canberra’s inner north and inner south.

The result is well above an ACT-wide average of 67.53 per cent.

The average Saturday clearance rate in Gungahlin over winter has been 60.4 per cent, followed by Woden Valley with 59.73 per cent, Tuggeranong with 54.87 per cent, and Weston Creek with 52.27 per cent.

Belconnen has recorded clearance rates of 100 per cent three times over the past six weeks, including on Saturday, July 8.

Sales under the hammer have taken only one significant dive over winter, with 40 per cent of homes selling under the hammer on June 17.

That weekend also marked Canberra’s lowest overall auction clearance rate this season: 55.3 per cent.

• Related: Auction watch – New record for Weetangera
• Related: July good news for Canberra sellers
• Related: The rise and rise of Belconnen

While the number of scheduled auctions fell on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, every Belconnen home sold under the hammer.

Domain Group chief economist Andrew Wilson said Belconnen’s recent string of perfect clearance rates was “remarkable”.

He said auctions results over winter could be volatile due to fewer scheduled auctions however, the ACT market remained solid.

“No doubt Belconnen is the superstar at the moment,” he said.

“Ultimately, it’s a seller’s market. Demand remains well ahead of supply.

“I think if you’re a seller, your problem will be whether you’ve sold your property for enough.”

Dr Wilson said buyers priced out of central suburbs often looked further afield in regions like Belconnen.

“Perceived value starts to change as prices grow,” he said

Belconnen has been experiencing something of a resurgence with a $700-million mixed-use precinct, multiple new suburb records and many new developments cementing a successful 2016.

On Saturday the sale of a one-acre property at 17 McLachlan Crescent broke Weetangera’s residential sales record by $41,000.

Allhomes data scientist Nicola Powell said Belconnen represented a spectrum of property types – and prospective buyers.

“You do have a lot of entry-level houses in the district of Belconnen but you also have aspirational suburbs, such as Weetangera,” she said.

“Under a low interest rate environment Canberra’s upsizing market has really been activated.”

Dr Powell said Belconnen still offered affordability, with many families attracted to quality schools.

She expected new development in west Belconnen to impact buyer psychology.

“When you’ve got huge development – the first cross-border suburb – and the government is spending money on things like infrastructure, what that does overall in the region is attract buyers to the area,” she said.