Combined capital city clearance rate of 80.0 per cent recorded over the March quarter

The combined capital city clearance rate was recorded at 80.0 per cent over the March 2021 quarter, increasing from 69.4 per cent over the December quarter and 62.5 per cent over the March 2020 quarter.

Looking at auction volumes, there were 19,004 homes taken to auction across the combined capital cities over the three months to March 2021, compared to 20,489 over the December quarter, and 18,902 this time last year.

There were 9,065 homes taken to auction in Melbourne over the March quarter, and of the 9,027 results collected, 77.5 per cent were successful.

In comparison, Sydney saw 7,043 auctions held across the city and of the 7,004 auction results collected, 84.5 per cent were sold.

Across the smaller auction markets, Canberra was the best performing in terms of clearance rates, with 85.4 per cent of reported auctions selling.

If we take a look at our weekly auction figures, the weekly auction clearance rate across the combined capitals has been at or above 80 per cent just five times since 2008, and four of those were in March 2021.

The week ending 28th March 2021 recorded the highest auction clearance rate on record (83.1 per cent), while also being the busiest week for auctions since late March 2018.

In comparison, the same week last year saw just 37.3 per cent of homes sell as COVID restrictions hit and withdrawal rates surged, with a staggering 50.2 per cent of auction results reported as withdrawn that week, which weighed heavily on the clearance rate.

Capital city & major regional markets

Weekly clearance rate and volume of auctions, combined capital cities

Quarterly summary, regional

Capital city key statistics

About Eliza Owen Eliza is head Of Residential Research Australia for Corelogic and a respected property market commentator. Eliza holds a first class honours degree in economics from the University of Sydney