‘Statistically, the higher chance of selling’: Canberra’s clearance rate records largest annual drop

Canberra’s auction clearance rate reached the highest level since October 2022 in February but recorded the largest annual drop of all capital cities, data reveals.

Domain’s Auction Report for the month of February revealed Canberra’s preliminary clearance rate reached a median of 58.2 per cent over the month, a 9.2 percentage point increase from the month before but an 18.9 percentage point drop year-on-year — the largest annual fall of all capital cities 

Of the 429 auctions scheduled in February, 199 were successfully sold at auction, and 108 passed in, while 19 per cent sold prior and 10.2 per cent were withdrawn entirely. 

Nick Paine of Luton Properties Gungahlin said he favoured the decision to take his listed property at 62/15 Coranderrk Street, City, to auction despite it selling prior.

The home attracted 23 groups during the first two open homes, with three decent pre-auction offers, which encouraged the sale within the second week of being on the market.

“I don’t believe the success of an auction is predicated on whether the home sells on the day or not, it’s that it sells within the first six to seven weeks of being on the market,” he said. 

“As a company, we will certainly continue with auctions as the preferred method of sale because, from our records, it is statistically the higher chance of selling a property.

“However, I do think the market as a whole will shift to more priced properties and days on the market are going to increase.”

Because of the perceived changes that are likely to happen to the market, Paine said he puts “a lot of emphasis on the things we can control” to produce a sale. 

“Presenting the property, the marketing, the response to the inquiries … these are the things we can control,” he added. 

“Taking the price out of the equation for buyers also means we get some honest feedback, and the sellers can make a decision based on that information.

“The property we sold at 62/15 Coranderrk Street was particularly nice though, so that certainly did help.” 

Josh Yewdall of Belle Property Canberra said presenting every valuable aspect of a home was a key contributor to achieving sales at auction in the current market.

“Buyers are now looking at value as a driver over everything else, their budget for a purchase is targeted towards whatever the best value is for them,” he said. 

“If you can present the value and a few strong points of difference, especially in a building sense where buyers don’t have to do any work, alongside a realistic price, that will get demand.” 

It’s this value that pushed homes to successfully sell under the hammer, Yewdall added. 

“I’m running auction campaigns, like the one at 70 Thynne Street in Bruce, only if I see high value in conjunction with an expected demand on it,” he said. 

“That was a separate title offering with large living in a thriving suburb, so it made sense in this particular scenario to build up the interest and highlight the value.

“Even though the home passed in at auction, it was the lead up and hard work we did that got it through negotiations and sold on the day.”