Did you miss out on buying your dream home in Sydney in 2015? A decline in auction clearance rates may help you land a better deal this year. But experts say in 2016, all eyes should be on the Brisbane property market.
Overall Australia’s capital cities saw a marked decline in auction clearance rates from 73.4% in the September quarter to 62.1% in December, according to CoreLogic RP Data.
The “seasonal uplift” that normally happens at the end of the year didn’t arrive and clearance rates haven’t been this low since December 2012, according to CoreLogic RP Data head of research Tim Lawless.
Yet there were more auctions in December with a 15% rise in the number of properties going under the hammer.
“Much of the overall weakness across the auction market can be attributed to the weakening performance across Sydney’s auction market, where the clearance rate averaged 59.8% over the quarter compared with a more resilient result of 67.8% in Melbourne,” says Lawless.
Brisbane is probably the market to watch this year as it hasn’t had the same rate of growth as Sydney and Melbourne since 2009.
“We should expect clearance rates to track down over the first quarter of 2016,” he says.
Those looking to purchase a home in the harbour city should particularly benefit from these market conditions.
“Sydney is where we’ve seen more of a slow down in overall conditions,” he says. “There’s simply less urgency in the market than we’ve seen in recent years.
All of which is great news for buyers wanting a better deal.
“There’s more stock (houses) to choose from and less competition and buyers have been able to take their time and negotiate harder.”
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Brisbane market to heat up
While property may take that bit longer to sell in Sydney, it’s not all bad news with Lawless tipping Brisbane will be the city to watch in 2016.
While most properties in Brisbane are sold via private treaty rather than auction, Lawless says the market up north is likely to heat up.
“Brisbane is probably the market to watch this year as it hasn’t had the same rate of growth as Sydney and Melbourne since 2009,” he says.
Adelaide he tipped would “hold fairly firm” while Perth is likely to dip a little before a leveling out.
| Capital city | Total auctions | Clearance rate (Dec) |
| Sydney | 12, 610 | 59.8% |
| Melbourne | 15, 438 | 67.8% |
| Adelaide | 1, 479 | 59.5% |
| Brisbane | 2, 236 | 45.6% |
| Perth | 534 | 35.3% |
| Canberra | 1,139 | 61.5% |
| Tasmania | 168 | 36.6% |
| Weighted average | 33, 604 | 62.1% |