Solid Canberra auction market as house prices soar

Canberra’s home auction market produced another solid result for sellers at the weekend as latest data reveals local house prices are soaring.

Canberra recorded a clearance rate of 67.6 per cent on Saturday, which was higher than the 64.7 per cent reported the previous weekend but down on the 73.8 per cent recorded over the same weekend last year.

Although the local market clearly remains positive for sellers, latest results have indicated an easing of the strong clearance rates recorded over recent months.

There were 47 homes listed for auction on Saturday, which was lower than the 60 auctioned over the previous weekend but similar to the 48 auctions scheduled over the same weekend last year. Next weekend there are 49 auctions due in Canberra.

Woden Valley reported the highest regional auction clearance rate at the weekend with a 100 per cent result from the two reported auctions. Next highest was Gungahlin with 75 per cent followed by Belconnen 70 per cent, Canberra Central 66.7 per cent, Tuggeranong 50 per cent and Weston Creek where the one reported auction failed to sell under the hammer.

Notable sales reported at the weekend included a four-bedroom home at 81 Hopetoun Circuit, Yarralumla, which sold for $1,340,000 by Ray White Canberra, another four-bedroom home at 5 Duffy Street, Ainslie, sold for $1,300,000 by LJ Hooker Dickson, a four-bedroom home at 27 Cameron Street, Farrer, sold by Luton Properties for $1,065,000, a five-bedroom home at 1 Tange Place, Nicholls, sold for $928,000 also by Luton Properties and a four-bedroom home at 7/11 Howitt Street, Kingston, sold by Maloney’s for $915,000.

The most expensive property reported sold at auction was a four-bedroom home at 25 Fortitude Street, Red Hill, sold for $1,700,000 by Peter Blackshaw Real Estate. The most affordable property reported sold at the weekend was a two-bedroom unit at 5/156 Knox Street, Watson, sold for $243,000 by McGrath Estate Agents.

For a list of Canberra auction results, click here Canberra auction results October 14.

Canberra recorded a median auction price of $735,000 on Saturday, which was higher than the $682,000 reported over the previous weekend but 5.2 per cent lower than the $775,000 achieved over the same weekend last year. A total of $16.8 million was reported sold at auction in Canberra at the weekend.

The Canberra housing market continues to provide robust results for local home owners with the latest data revealing nation-leading growth in house prices.

Domain reports that the Canberra median house price surged by 4.3 per cent over the September quarter to a new record high $723,980. The Canberra growth rate was the highest recorded of all the capitals with the exception of Hobart where the median increased by 4.4 per cent over the quarter.

Canberra house prices have now increased by 10.5 per cent over the past year, which is behind only Melbourne at 13.9 per cent and Hobart at 14.8 per cent for annual growth rates.

Canberra unit prices also increased over the September quarter, higher by 1.9 per cent to a median of $427,391. Local unit prices, however, remained 0.5 per cent lower than recorded over the September quarter last year.

Dr Andrew Wilson is Domain Group chief economist. Twitter@DocAndrewWilson, join on LinkedIn and Facebook at MyHousingMarket.