Winter ends on positive note for Canberra market

The Canberra home auction market ended winter with another solid result for sellers at the weekend and the clear prospect of a robust spring selling season ahead

Canberra recorded a clearance rate of 72.5 percent on the weekend which was lower than the 74.2 per cent reported over the previous weekend and also down on the 79.1 per cent recorded over the same Saturday last year.

61 homes were listed for auction on the weekend in Canberra which was well ahead of the 31 auctioned the previous weekend and higher also than the 53 listed over the same weekend last year. Canberra will host 54 auctions next weekend for the official start of the spring weekend market.

Woden Valley reported yet another 100 per cent clearance rate at the weekend from four sales and followed also again by Belconnen with 83.3 percent then Gungahlin 75.0 per cent , Canberra Central 66.7 per cent and Weston Creek with a clearance rate of  60.0 per cent.

Notable sales reported at the weekend included a  3  bedroom home at 24 Barrallier  Street Griffith sold for  $1,370,000 by Peter Blackshaw Real Estate, a  4  bedroom home at 7 Booroondara  Street Reid sold for  $1,230,000 by Luton Properties – Manuka, a  5  bedroom home at 3 Crowe  Place Farrer sold by Peter Blackshaw Real Estate for  $1,225,000, a  3  bedroom home at 53 Longstaff  Street Lyneham sold by McGrath Estate Agents for  $937,000 and a  4  bedroom home at 20 Haverfield  Place McKellar sold by Luton Properties – Manuka for  $900,000.

The most expensive property reported sold at auction was a  3  bedroom home at 7 Weld  Street Yarralumla sold for  $1,390,000 by McGrath Woden. The most affordable property reported sold at the weekend was a  3  bedroom home at 3 Traill  Place Charnwood sold for  $401,500 by LJ Hooker Gungahlin.

For a list of Canberra auction results click here Canberra auction results August 26.

Canberra recorded a median auction price of $734,000 on Saturday which was higher than the $681,000 reported over the previous weekend but 14.5 per cent lower than the $858,000 recorded over the same weekend last year. A total of $18.9m was reported sold at auction in Canberra at the weekend.

Housing affordability generally in Canberra has improved despite the sharp increases in house prices recorded by the local market so far this year.

An index of housing affordability that measures the average ACT owner-occupied home loan repayment as a proportion of local average household income decreased by 2.8 per cent over the June quarter. Lower index results indicate a lower income proportion of home loan repayments and higher housing affordability.

Housing affordability has increased over consecutive quarters in the ACT and has now improved by 4.4 per cent over the past year and remains well below the peak in the ten year series recorded over the March quarter 2008.

The improvement in ACT housing affordability over the quarter despite increased lending and higher house prices reflects the impact of a lower average loan, lower borrowing costs for owner-occupiers and an increase in local incomes.

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