Is Adelaide our auction market capital?

Adelaide is officially the hottest auction market capital as conditions continue to heat up in Australia’s most liveable city.

Ray White Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee has crunched the numbers and found that Adelaide has so far recorded the highest clearance rate in the entire Ray White network with 90 per cent of properties selling on auction day in July.

Across Australia right now the average stands at 75 per cent clearance, with Sydney coming in second at 86 per cent.

“While the clearance rate is impressive, more so are the number of bidders. Active bidders per auction has increased substantially over recent months. Per auction, there are currently 4.6 active bidders. This is almost 40 per cent higher than the Australian average of 3.4 active bidders,” Ms Conisbee said.

The number of average active bidders has increased by 40 per cent since the start of the year and suggests that market conditions are continuing to accelerate in the Adelaide market.

“This strength in demand we are seeing in auction number is not surprisingly flowing through to pricing,” she said.

Adelaide house prices have increased by 15 per cent over the past 12 months, while units have increased by almost six per cent.

The suburb where we are seeing the most competition is Greenacres in Adelaide’s north-east, attracting on average six active bidders per auction.

Ray White South Australia / Northern Territory Chief Auctioneer John Morris (pictured above in action) puts the auction success down to massive bidder numbers.

“Ray White held more than 35 per cent of all auctions for the week in Adelaide last week, more than all the six of our nearest competitors combined,” Mr Morris said.

“Many agents are turning to in-room and midweek auctions with the weekends quickly booking out.”

Last Saturday alone, a staggering 50 registered bidders turned up to bid for this modest brick home in Seaton which sold for $1 million on the dot. This was the highest number of bidders registrations in the entire Ray White group across Australia and New Zealand last week.

Principal of Ray White Port Adelaide Nick Psarros said it was one of the most incredible auction results of his entire career at 7 Selkirk Avenue, Seaton. The humble, original brick home smashed its reserve of $698,000 and the winning bidders were a trio of son, father and uncle, who saw the potential in the corner allotment and large chunk of land. Mr Psarros said his sellers have owned the home for 63 years and it was the first time ever on offer.

"We broke a record for a house of this kind in the suburb. It certainly was up there with one of the most thrilling auctions I have ever experienced.”