Where have all the interstate buyers gone?

LAST year, you couldn’t swing an auction hammer without hitting an interstate buyer but data shows the trend may be on the way out.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics data reported that most states and territories had positive population growth in the 12 months leading up to last September. Queensland unsurprisingly had the highest growth rate at 1.1 per cent but Victoria reported a negative -0.5 per cent growth rate. This represents a population growth of almost 57,800 people in Queensland while in Victoria the population fell by 32,700 people.

According to Ray White data, more than 15 per cent of auction buyers in January were from interstate. This number fell to less than 10 per cent in February and continued to decline in March to just over eight per cent.

This fall coincides with the gradual opening up of each state this year as we learn to live with COVID-19. Anecdotally, many of last year’s interstate buyers said their reasons for jumping the border were twofold - to escape the restrictive lockdowns of Melbourne and Sydney and to be closer to family.

It appears that with no more lockdowns on the horizon and free movement between states, there is now less need for buyers to uproot their lives by seeking out greener pastures over the border.

But perhaps there will still be some interstate buyers at this week’s Ray White auctions. The group has 857 auctions scheduled this week, including 489 auctions on Saturday. This week, Ray White Sydney has scheduled the most auctions with 237 booked while Ray White Melbourne has another 214 auctions scheduled. Ray White Adelaide has overtaken the Brisbane network, scheduling 85 auctions to Ray White Brisbane’s 75.