Preliminary auction clearance rates eased across Australia's combined capital cities this week, easing back after last week's strongest result in almost three months, according to the latest data from Cotality.
Tim Lawless (pictured), head of research, Asia Pacific at Cotality, said the preliminary clearance rate across the combined capitals slipped to 53.2% this week, coming off the back of a 12-week high of 56.5% the previous week.
"The preliminary auction clearance rate slipped to 53.2% across the combined capitals this week, after recording the highest early success rate in 12 weeks last week (56.5%)," Lawless said.
Auction volumes moved in the opposite direction, with 1,406 capital city homes taken to auction this week, up 10.2% on last week's 1,276. Volumes remain well down on a year ago, however, sitting 31.9% below the 2,066 auctions held in the same week last year.
Cotality's August chart pack noted that clearance rates have stayed below 50% since late May, adding that "auction outcomes and trends in home values have shown a strong correlation historically, implying further downside pressure on home values."
The softer results follow the RBA's decision to hold the cash rate at 4.35% for a second straight meeting on 11 August, with Governor Michele Bullock leaving the door open to further hikes, saying "the board will raise rates further if that is what is required to bring inflation down in a timely way."
At a city level, the divergence in results was stark. Melbourne and Canberra both saw clearance rates soften, while Sydney's rose despite a weaker longer-term trend.
Melbourne recorded the highest auction volume of any capital city this week, with 600 homes going under the hammer, up 2% on the previous week but down 39.1% year-on-year. The city's preliminary clearance rate fell to 55.4%, its weakest early result in four weeks.
Canberra saw auction volumes rise sharply to 67, up from 43 the week before, though its preliminary clearance rate fell to 41.4%, down from a revised 53.5% the previous week.
Sydney held 482 auctions, a 17.6% rise on the prior week, though still 33.9% below the same week last year. The preliminary clearance rate rose to 56.6%, up from a week earlier, though final numbers for the prior week were revised down to 47.1%. Sydney's preliminary clearance rate has now held below 60% for 16 consecutive weeks.
Brisbane held 153 auctions, up 7.7% week-on-week, with 40.4% reporting a successful result so far. Adelaide recorded 92 auctions, up 9.5% on the previous week, with a preliminary clearance rate of 54.8%. Perth recorded just 11 auctions, with two clearing so far, while the single auction scheduled in Tasmania this week was withdrawn.
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