The first weekend of on-site auctions provided some positive results for sellers, buyers and agents alike, after a six week limited shutdown of on-site auctions and public open homes.
In NSW there was an auction clearance rate of 68% for the week ending 10 May, according to domain.com.au. This figure is 10% higher than the same time last year, which is promising news considering the current climate due to COVID-19.
“The clearance rate has bounced back to levels we were seeing prior to the bans, with the weekend being the highest since mid-March,” said Domain senior analyst Nicola Powell.
“One of the things that we still saw this weekend was quite a lot of these properties actually sold prior to auction day, which has been a trend during this auction banned period – about 36% of auctions.” Powell said.
Here at Belle Property Illawarra, we certainly experienced the trend of properties selling prior to auction, with 51 Hobart Street, Bulli selling just hours before it’s scheduled auction for $1,265,000.
At our most recent auction evening, we also sold 4/24 Suvla Street, Port Kembla to an online bidder for $875,000. The results, Powell says, reflect improving sentiment as Australians “see the light at the end of the tunnel” as restrictions of all stripes begin to be lifted.