Melbourne property: sharp rise in auctions as steady market attracts sellers

Auction activity will rise sharply this weekend as the solid Melbourne market regathers momentum following the recent pause for the Easter holidays.

Nearly 700 homes are scheduled go under the hammer on Saturday which will be well ahead of last weekend’s 482 listings and higher than the 562 auctioned over the same weekend last year.  

Although auction activity is on the rise, overall autumn listings will likely remain below the levels recorded last year over the same period. Falling interest rates a year ago were a catalyst for a surge in housing market activity in Melbourne. 

The west will again clearly host the highest number of auctions this weekend with 126.  The north-east is next highest with 111 followed by the outer east (91), the inner south  (88), the inner city (82), the north (77), the inner east (54) and the south-east with 53 auctions.

Mount Waverley has the highest number of auctions listed this weekend, with 16, followed by Preston with 14, Reservoir and East Bentleigh, each with 13, Pascoe Vale with 10 and a number of suburbs with nine auctions scheduled including Glen Waverley, Essendon, Noble Park and Hawthorn.

The robust Melbourne home auction market resumed last weekend without missing a beat following the Easter holiday break.

Melbourne recorded a clearance rate of 73.8 per cent, which was just below the 74.1 per cent recorded on the pre-Easter weekend a fortnight ago and also below the boom-time 77.5 per cent recorded over the same post-Easter weekend last year.

Last Saturday’s result was just below the average weekend rate of 75.4 per cent recorded over the previous nine Saturdays, with a high of 79.2 per cent and a low of 73.4 per cent reported over that period.

Low interest rates continue to fuel buyer activity in the Melbourne housing market. This week the Reserve Bank predictably decided to leave official rates on hold over April at the record low 2 per cent for the 11th consecutive month. 

A near-term cut in rates, however, remains on the cards with continuing mixed reports on the health of the national economy. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data indicates that the recent home building boom has peaked, the trend for retail sales growth is declining, house prices are flat or falling, inflation remains low in an increasingly lifeless economy and the Australian dollar continues to track well above the preferred levels of policymakers.   

Dr Andrew Wilson is Domain Group’s chief economist

Twitter @DocAndrewWilson