House sales fall in Canberra but more properties sell at auction

Housing activity may have slipped but more homes are selling under the hammer.

The number of homes sold over the first 10 months of the year fell by 3.6 per cent compared to the same period last year, or 144 fewer homes sold. A drop in supply complemented the fall in demand. Supply tumbled by 7.6 per cent to 4364 vendors listing on allhomes.com.au over the first ten months of 2016, however this equates to a massive 361 fewer homes listed compared to last year.

Auction success is fundamentally based on market conditions. Activity may have slid but more homes are selling under the hammer. This single insight alone illustrates that the local housing market is brimming with active buyers. Over the year-to-date 33.5 per cent of homes across Canberra and Greater Queanbeyan sold under the hammer. The rate of auction success rose by 6.2 per cent compared to last year. It is the lack of new housing stock that has increased the competition for homes resulting in more selling at auction.

Auction success dramatically changes depending upon the location, as all suburbs varied enormously. A compilation of the latest Allhomes data reveals the top 10 suburbs for homes sold at auction. The hot spot listed was calculated as the percentage of homes sold at auction over the year-to-date.

The district of Belconnen trumped all other districts with four suburbs in the top 10. Macquarie and Aranda took out the top two spots with 92 per cent and 86 per cent of homes sold at auction. In third place was Hughes with 81 per cent of homes sold at auction, followed by Holder with 76 per cent.

In joint fifth place was Pearce and Red Hill, with three in every four homes sold under the hammer. The last four suburbs to make the auction hotspots for the region were closely contested. Mckellar came in seventh place with 74 per cent of homes sold at auction, followed by Dickson at 73 per cent, Chifley at 72 per cent and Cook with 71 per cent.

Two of the regions newest suburbs had the lowest auction success rate. A mere 1.5 per cent of homes in Moncrieff sold at auction and 4.4 per cent of homes in Googong. This reflects the type of stock on the market, with a higher proportion of house and land packages that are typically sold by private treaty.

Nicola Powell is a property expert for Allhomes. Twitter: @DocNicolaPowell. The MIX106.3 Real Estate Show, Saturdays, 9-10am.