As property owners who held their assets through a two-year downturn begin to take their homes to market, Australia is facing another boom in property auctions.
According to property data firm CoreLogic, the last three months to September 2019 have seen the strongest quarterly clearance rates since early 2017, with over 70 per cent of homes offered to the market finding a buyer.
Last week saw over 2000 homes taken to auction across the country, up dramatically from 1324 the previous week — 77 per cent of those sold at auction over the last seven day period.
In Sydney, 80 per cent of homes offered at auction this week have sold, while clearance rates in Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra were all more than 75 per cent.
The only capitals which remain lower are Brisbane and Perth, although clearance rates there have risen to 59 per cent and 42 per cent respectively this week.
"The market started strengthening before the federal election this year but the fact that it continued strengthening was because of the certainty that negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions are going to continue,” says Kevin Brogan of CoreLogic.
"Then we saw two interest rate cuts and first-time buyers have also returned to the market."
The Reserve Bank of Australia recently announced a third official interest rate cut, which has only increased buyer confidence more.
Perhaps the biggest winner of the weekend’s sales were the owners of 87-91 Middle Street in Kingsford, Sydney, who scooped the biggest sale in the country after their property sold for a staggering $7.35 million.
This unassuming single-storey brick home conceals enough room for a block of flats and is perfectly situated close to the University of New South Wales, Sydney's CBD and Prince of Wales Hospital — perhaps better explaining the eye-watering price.
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