The weekend clearance rate dropped but this was due to the volume of sales being very high, with the market still showing signs of strength. Of the 1,201 auctions reported to the REIV this weekend, 842 sold and 359 properties were passed in (184 of those on a vendor bid). The resulting clearance rate was 70%, which is similar to last week’s final result of 69%. Aside from the auctions on the weekend, there were also 424 private sales.
The first quarter of the year has seen record numbers of properties on the market, and higher than average clearance rates. It does appear with the choice of properties on the market, that auctions overall have become slightly less competitive than what they were a couple of months ago. We do expect May to produce a high volume of sales with 5 auction weekends for the month.
This weekend should be very quiet with auctions due to Easter with only 60 auctions scheduled.
