Competition at auctions has been on the decline as the property market weakens, but new figures show that appears to be changing
Sydney auctions had 2.6 active bidders on average last month, while Melbourne auctions had 2.5.
Bidder numbers at auctions are stabilising, and even rising in some markets, as buyers and sellers adjust to the cooler market and interest rate rises. The modest supply of homes for sale is leaving buyers with fewer options. “It’s definitely still a cooling market ... [but bidder numbers] are improving more than what you would expect given that interest rates are still rising and prices do still seem to be adjusting downwards,” she said.The spring selling season traditionally bought an uplift in buyer activity, but Conisbee noted other factors were at play. Buyers had adjusted to rising interest rates and reduced budgets, while sellers had adjusted their price expectations.
Sydney auctioneer Michael Garofolo, of Cooley Auctions, felt buyer sentiment was improving. He had a string of strong results last Saturday, including two properties,, that each drew more than 20 registered bidders and about half a dozen active bidders. “The clearance rate still stuck around the 60 per cent mark though ... but it was encouraging to see more activity, and more buyers,” Garofolo said.Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 62.1 per cent on Saturday, while Melbourne’s was 62.6 per cent, down from the 80 per cent levels reached last autumn and likely to be revised down further as more results are reported. A rate of 60 per cent is considered the threshold below which prices are likely to be falling.
“In June and July it was very quiet, by late August ... it went down to one buyer on everything, and now we’re back between one and three bidders depending on the property,” he said.
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