Canberra market bounces back hard following Budget boost

The Canberra home auction market rebounded strongly on Saturday following a number of quieter weekends with buyers and sellers back out in force following the positive initiatives announced in last week’s Budget.

Canberra recorded an auction clearance rate of 78.3 percent on Saturday which was significantly higher than the 54.6 reported over the previous weekend but higher than the 53.7 per cent recorded over the same weekend last year.

Saturdays strong result was the highest recorded by the local market since February 18 and the second highest of the year recorded so far.

Auction listings were also significantly higher last weekend with 72 homes scheduled to go under the hammer compared to the previous weekends 36 and the 42 auctioned over the same weekend last year. Next Saturday will be another solid weekend for market offerings with 63 homes listed for auction.

Gungahlin reported the highest regional clearance rate at the weekend with 100  per cent from the four reported auctions followed by Belconnen 86.7 per cent, Woden Valley 80.0 per cent, Tuggeranong 77.8 per cent, Canberra Central 75.0 per cent and Weston Creek with a clearance rate of 50.0 per cent from the two reported auctions.

Notable sales reported at the weekend included a  4  bedroom home at 7 McCormack  Place Curtin sold for  $1,425,000 by Peter Blackshaw Real Estate , a  3  bedroom home at 15 Cunningham  Street Kingston sold for  $1,250,000 by home.byholly, another  3  bedroom home at 28 Gormanston  Crescent Deakin sold for  $1,210,000 by IPG – Tuggeranong, a  4  bedroom home at 32 Marie Pitt  Street Franklin sold by McGrath Estate Agents for  $1,170,000 and a  3  bedroom home at 3 Discovery  Street Red Hill sold by LJ Hooker Manuka for  $1,100,000.

The most expensive property reported sold at auction was a  4  bedroom home at 13 Newdegate  Street Deakin sold for  $1,694,000 by LJ Hooker Manuka. The most affordable property reported sold at the weekend was a  2  bedroom unit at 22b/7 Medley  Street Chifley sold for  $335,000 by Luton Properties.

For a list of Canberra auction results click here Canberra auction results May 13

Canberra recorded a median auction price of $772,500 on Saturday which was significantly higher than the $$667,500 reported for the previous weekend. A total of $31.9m was reported sold at auction in Canberra at the weekend.

Last week the federal government announced in the Budget a number of policy initiatives designed to alleviate perceived housing market imbalances. These included allowing first home buyers to save home loan deposits through superannuation accounts, incentives for older downsizers to sell larger homes and financial penalties for foreign investors that leave investment properties vacant.

The government also announced a number of specific initiatives designed to directly increase the supply of new housing.

Although these measures are welcomed they are unlikely to have a significant impact on housing market outcomes. The continued underperformance of the national economy as also revealed in the Budget will however have a more direct influence over housing market activity, particularly in regard to the likely future direction of official interest rates.

Dr Andrew Wilson is Domain Group Chief Economist Twitter@DocAndrewWilson join on LinkedIn and Facebook at MyHousingMarket.