Canberra housing: Clearance rates on the rise as a wave of prestige properties are set to create benchmarks

Canberra’s housing market is coming out of the doldrums with a wave of record house prices and rising clearance rates.

Last weekend, clearance rates rose to a healthier rate of 65 per cent after hovering between 45 and 50 per cent for weeks.

Canberra’s southern precinct is drawing strong attention with properties highly contested and top prices achieved.

Prestige property, however, continues to set new benchmarks, which is forecast to continue as several high-end properties are on the market.

The sprawling five-bedroom family home on 1887 square metres at 8 Marrakai Street, Hawker, fetched $2.98 million at auction last week, setting a suburb.

Luton Properties’ Richard Luton said the agency last sold the same property for $2.04 million in 2021, which also set a record.

“Marrakai Street is one of the most sought-after addresses in the suburb, with the buyers generally coming from the same area,” he said.

Luton also brokered one of this year’s top prices with the $6.66 million sale of a four-bedroom home on a landscaped block of 3402 square metres at 4 Moresby Street, Red Hill.

Elsewhere, a five-bedroom home on a 1464-square-metre block at 137 Hawkesbury Crescent, Farrer, fetched a record price of $2.85 million.

Luton added that the market was still performing well. “Interest rates are still not high, with properties affordable for many buyers,” he said.

Luton is expecting another record price next month. The five-bedroom, four-bathroom home at 15 Boucaut Place, Curtin, is expected to set a new benchmark for the area.

Similarly, Blackshaw Manuka’s Mario Sanfrancesco said spring was here, and clearance rates were up with a rise of quality properties on offer.

Sanfrancesco has also had properties set price records this year, including the distinctive four-bedroom home at 38 Scottsdale Street, Lyons, which sold for $2.825 million in May.

“We’re expecting a record result for the three-level penthouse in the Sapphire development at 405/45 Honeysett View, Kingston,” he said.

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“There are six penthouses in the development, with the previous sale achieving $4 million.

“This penthouse is the crown jewel and an amalgamation of a penthouse and two sub-penthouses. There’s nothing like it in Canberra, so we’re expecting a strong price for the five-bedroom residence, which comes with an eight-car garage.”

With the Domain House Price Report due next week, all eyes will be focused on whether there has been a shift in Canberra’s overall median house price. The last report showed the median house price for the June 2023 quarter was $1,034,057, down 11.9 per cent from the June 2022 peak.