How do our different markets stack up?

Not all property markets are made the same and while one may find its prices and clearance rates dipping, another may still be on a hot streak.

Rate rises have been seen as a large factor in the slowing down of certain markets.

“House prices are very sensitive to interest rates, particularly in areas where housing debt is high such as some suburbs within Sydney and Melbourne. However they are not the only influence and in some locations, other factors are a greater consideration,” Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said.

“While we are seeing prices come back a bit in parts of Sydney and Melbourne, we are not seeing it everywhere. For example, prices on the Gold Coast have sped up this year compared to the end of last year. Similarly, as the property cycle changes, we will see some areas more impacted than others.”

Auction data is an easy way to look at what’s happening in a market. Since January 1, Ray White data has recorded a 70 per cent clearance rate, 4.9 registered bidders and 2.9 active bidders on average nationally.

Sydney

Sydney’s market has the highest median house price of any capital city in Australia at $1.4 million. The state’s capital also has the highest rate of auction listings selling prior. Over 28 per cent of all scheduled auctions since the start of the year have sold before auction day despite data showing that Sydney sellers who make it to auction net on average 11 per cent more.

Ray White in Sydney scheduled 3,160 auctions this year and reached above the national average on clearance rate at 72 per cent. While properties are selling under the hammer, bidder numbers are slightly down on last year.

Sydney offices in Ray White recorded 4.6 registered bidders on average this year and 2.6 active bidders. Activity may have dropped from the crazy heights of last year but buyers are still willing to stretch themselves for the right property at auction when competition is there factoring in the 11 per cent extra sellers get going to auction.

Adelaide

Adelaide may be Australia’s auction capital. Ray White agents in Adelaide collectively scheduled 1,232 but they have the highest metrics of any capital city market in the country.

Ray White in Adelaide has maintained an almost 80 per cent clearance rate since the start of the year. Registered bidders are still sky high at 7.5 while average active bidders are above the national standard at 3.5 per auction.

Adelaide sellers also achieved nearly 13 per cent extra by selling under the hammer instead of selling prior, making it the best city to sell by auction in this regard. Confidence from buyers and sellers is still high in South Australia’s capital.

Melbourne

Melbourne is Ray White’s largest capital city auction market by volume. This year, the group has scheduled 3,324 auctions in the Victorian capital. The auction clearance rate is above the national average at just over 71 per cent. However, the number of registered bidders - four - is below the national average and the number of active bidders sits exactly on the national figure. Buyer sentiment has dipped slightly from last year’s 3.4 active bidder average but still sits above the 2019 half year average of 2.2.

In Victoria, the group has recorded 9,120 new listing authorities since the start of the year which is just below the same time last year when there were 9,401, showing sellers have only been a bit more cautious this year.

Brisbane

Ray White in Brisbane have scheduled 1,613 auctions since the beginning of the year but what’s impressive is the bidder numbers coming out of the sunshine state capital. On average, there were 5.8 registered bidders per auction and 3.3 active bidders. This beats the national average and is the second highest on our list.

Maybe it’s the weather or just that Brisbane is still seen as having more bang for your buck but buyers both local and interstate have not lost much, if any, confidence in the market. The clearance rate sits at 67 per cent this year. The amount of properties that sold prior to auction is higher than Adelaide at 21 per cent, despite the fact that sellers who choose to sell at auction net more than 10 per cent extra on their sale than if they sell prior.