Year-high result as Canberra defies winter auction market blues

The Canberra weekend home auction market recorded its highest clearance rate of the year on Saturday with the hot local market booming with no sign of the usual the mid-winter chill in activity.

Canberra recorded a remarkable clearance rate of 90.4 percent on Saturday which was sharply higher again than the 72.4 per cent reported over the previous weekend and light years ahead of the 67.7 per cent recorded over the same weekend last year.

37 homes were listed to go under the hammer at the weekend which was similar to the 36 auctioned last weekend but higher than the 31 listed over the same weekend last year. Next weekend auction numbers will increase sharply with 52 auctions scheduled.

All Canberra regions reported 100 per cent clearance rates at the weekend with the exception  of Woden Valley where just one of three reported auctions was sold with a clearance rate of 33.3 per cent.

Notable sales reported at the weekend included a  4  bedroom home at 52 Creswell  Street Campbell sold by Peter Blackshaw Real Estate for  $1,150,000, another  4  bedroom home at 42 Wilshire  Street Dickson sold for  $995,000 by IPG Inner North and City, a  5  bedroom home at 13 Metcalfe  Street Nicholls sold by Peter Blackshaw Real Estate for  $975,000, a  4  bedroom home at 3 Pasmore  Close Kaleen sold for  $970,000 by Luton Properties Dickson and another  4  bedroom home at 13 Fairydale  Street Harrison sold by Luton Gungahlin for  $765,000.

The most expensive property reported sold at auction was a  5  bedroom home at 58 Endeavour  Street Red Hill sold for  $2,900,000 by Luton Properties Manuka. The most affordable property reported sold at the weekend was a  3  bedroom home at 61 Gurrang  Avenue Ngunnawal sold for  $393,000 by LJ Hooker Gungahlin.

For a list of Canberra auction results click here Canberra auction results July 29

Canberra recorded a median auction price of $631,250 on Saturday which was well below the $807,500 reported over the previous weekend and 13.5 per cent lower than the $730,000 recorded over the same weekend last year. A total of $19.5m was reported sold at auction in Canberra at the weekend.

This week the Reserve Bank meets to decide the direction of official interest rates over August with rates likely to remain at the current 1.5 per cent for the 12th consecutive month. Latest economic data remains mixed with the ABS national June jobless rate at a four year low but rates in Melbourne and Brisbane increasing sharply over the past year and now over 6.0 per cent. The Canberra June jobless rate has also surged up from 3.0 per cent to 4.7 per cent annually.

The ABS June quarter headline inflation result was disappointing increasing by just 0.2 percent over the quarter and up by 1.9 per cent over the year – below the RBA’s notional target range of 2 to 3 per cent. The recent trend of underlying inflation however has improved marginally although remaining at low levels.

The recent surge in the Australian dollar would also concern the RBA following misguided speculation regarding potential increases in local interest rates and being sustained by a lower US dollar. Nonetheless the Reserve Bank is likely to persist with is recent medium-term view of economic activity with rates likely to remain on hold for the rest of the year.

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