The clearance rates from last weekend’s auctions in cities along the country’s eastern seaboard have been released.
Results from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) show that property prices in the area may be falling despite predictions earlier in the year that they would rise. In fact, it could be that the opposite is true with a number of sections of the housing market recording weak sale figures.
In Melbourne the average auction clearance rate was about 57 per cent for the year, which is down from 71 per cent last year. Last weekend, a total of 668 auctions took place of which 352 were sold and 316 were passed in – 204 of those on the vendors bid.
According to data from AMP – and with the idea that a December rise in auction clearance is unlikely – rates are expected to be their weakest since 2008.
“For most of this year everyone was on the understanding that rates were going up not down,” said REIV research manager Robert Larcocca. “That combined with concerns about the international economy has caused a lot of people to not be bidding strongly at auction.”
Investors that are shopping for home loans may wish to take this information into account before making any long term commitments.
