After record numbers of listings being auctioned every weekend, Melbourne's market had to hit a roadblock eventually. Over the weekend Melbourne recorded the year's lowest auction clearance rate of 76.6 percent.
The previous weekend recorded 79.7 per cent, while over the same weekend last year the clearance rate was 75.2 per cent.
A flood of late autumn listings is clearly impacting the local market providing buyers with more choice and sellers with more competition as they try to capitalise on strong conditions.
On Saturday 1143 homes were listed for auction in Melbourne which was just above the previous weekend's 1113 auctions and well ahead of the 1067 listed over the same weekend last year.
Saturday's auction numbers were the second highest ever recorded for a May weekend and just below the all-time record of 1147 set on May 31 2014.
Melbourne has averaged 959 auctions over each weekend in May which is clearly a record for the month with the previous high of 927 set over May 2015. The winter market commences next weekend with a June record of nearly 1050 homes listed for auction.
Melbourne recorded a median auction price of $839,000 on Saturday which was lower than the $891,000 reported over the previous weekend and 2.2 per cent higher than the $821,000 recorded over the same weekend last year. A total of $570.5 million was reported sold at auction in Melbourne at the weekend.
Although the strong Melbourne market eased at the weekend, the underlying drivers of housing market activity remain positive. Record migration, an underlying shortage of homes and a solid local economy will ensure demand remains ahead of supply. Changes to the stamp duty for first home buyers will also likely result in surging demand from this group from July.
Although recent national economic data has been largely underwhelming, the Melbourne economy continues to record overall positive results. Latest ABS data reports a Melbourne jobless rate of 6.5 per cent over April which was well above the 5.6 per cent recorded over April last year and reflects the impact of high levels of migration on the jobs market.
The Melbourne economy has however added 87,664 jobs to the workforce over the past year with the participation rate increasing sharply from 65.7 per cent to a high 67.2 per cent.
Although overall clearance rates were down at the weekend, Melbourne's regions continue to record similar results with a relatively minimal margin between high and low rates.
The northern suburbs continue to record boom-time results with the north east the top performer recording a weekend clearance rate of 82.9 per cent. Next highest was the north with 81.5 per cent followed by the outer east 80.9 per cent, the outer east 79.2 per cent, the west 77.9 per cent, the inner south 76.6 per cent, the inner east 76.5 per cent and the inner city with a clearance rate at the weekend of 66.7 per cent.
Notable sales reported at the weekend included:
- A three-bedroom home at 47 Howe Crescent, South Melbourne sold by Marshall White for $4,600,000;
- A four-bedroom home at 8 Ferrars Place, South Melbourne sold for $4,100,000 by Greg Hocking;
- Another four-bedroom home at 29 Oak Street, Hawthorn sold for $3,900,000 by Jellis Craig;
- A six-bedroom home at 41 Doonkuna Avenue, Camberwell sold for $3,400,000 by RT Edgar;
- And a four-bedroom home at 16 Marian Street, Hawthorn sold by Marshall White for $3,399,000.
The most expensive property reported sold at auction was a four-bedroom home at 42 Parlington Street, Canterbury sold for $4,750,000 by Kay and Burton. The most affordable property reported sold at the weekend was a one bedroom unit at 4/136 Wright Street, Sunshine sold for $245,000 by Douglas Kay Sunshine.
