Auction Clearance Rates Dip Below 50% Across Australia
According to Cotality's weekly auction results, clearance rates are languishing below 50% in all major capital cities except Melbourne (50.2%) and Adelaide (68.7%). The lowest clearance rates are in Canberra (39.5%) and Brisbane (39.3%), while the combined capital cities rate is 49.2%.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers Addresses Housing Market Softening
Appearing on Insiders, Treasurer Jim Chalmers was quizzed about falling housing prices. When asked if there was a point at which the federal government would be concerned about a price drop, such as 10%, he said Labor wasn't targeting a “particular price” or a “particular percentage” but acknowledged the market had softened, “though not uniformly”.
Chalmers noted, “There are a whole range of factors which go into house prices and auction clearance rates, interest rates, broader economic conditions, as well as tax settings. We’ve seen house prices already begin to soften before the budget, and the same is true of auction clearance rates. And so a whole bunch of factors, but also not one homogeneous market … The Treasury assumes that prices will continue to grow but a bit more slowly. And we see no reason at this point to change those assumptions.”
Impact on Prospective Homebuyers
The decline in clearance rates and softening prices may be welcome news for those hoping to enter the housing market. However, the market remains varied across regions, with some cities still showing resilience.
