Sellers still rule hot Canberra market

Clearance rates eased in the Canberra weekend home auction market on Saturday following the remarkable results of the previous weekend although most sellers clearly continue to prevail.

Canberra recorded a clearance rate of 74.2 percent on the weekend which was sharply lower than the 90.7 per cent reported over the previous weekend but well ahead of the 65.7 per cent recorded over the same Saturday last year.

Just 31 homes were listed to go under the hammer on Saturday which was well below the 51 auctioned the previous weekend and lower than the 38 listed over the same weekend last year. Next Saturday auction numbers will be sharply higher with 61 auctions scheduled.

Similar to last weekend, Woden Valley reported a 100 per cent clearance rates from the two reported auctions followed again by Belconnen with 80. per cent,  Tuggeranong 75.0 per cent, Gungahlin 66.7 per cent, and Canberra Central with a clearance rate at the weekend of 60.0 per cent.

Notable sales reported at the weekend included a  4  bedroom home at 6 Cooee  Rise Lawson sold by IPG – Gungahlin for  $965,000, a  5  bedroom home at 6 Clemenger  Street Nicholls sold for  $965,000 by Peter Blackshaw Real Estate, a  4  bedroom home at 4 Barclay  Place Nicholls sold for  $850,000 by Harcourts Brindabella, a  7  bedroom home at 70 Summerville  Crescent Florey sold for  $825,000 by Luton Properties – Belconnen and a  3  bedroom home at 116 Phillip  Avenue Downer sold by LJ Hooker Dickson for  $760,000.

The most expensive property reported sold at auction was a 4  bedroom home at 4 Brennan  Street Hackett sold for  $1,060,000 by Luton Properties – Dickson . The most affordable property reported sold at the weekend was a  3  bedroom home at 10 Lipscomb  Place MacGregor sold for  $420,000 by Ray White – Belconnen.

For a list of Canberra auction results click here Canberra auction results August 19

Canberra recorded a median auction price of $681,000 on Saturday which was higher than the $670,000 reported over the previous weekend and also 3.1 per cent lower than the $702,500 recorded over the same weekend last year. A total of $15.3m was reported sold at auction in Canberra at the weekend.

Latest wage data from the ABS remains a concern with the seasonally adjusted national wage index increasing by just 0.5 percent over the June quarter which was lower than the previous quarters 0.6 per cent increase and remains at near record low levels.

Annual wage growth was just 1.9 percent which remains a record low in the series and reflects a generally subdued economic climate. The ACT also recorded an annual wage index increase of just 1.9 percent.

With national annual wage growth at 1.9 percent and inflation also running at 1.9 percent over the June quarter, the economy is going nowhere with higher costs just matched by higher incomes.

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