Brisbane’s auction volume hits a five-year high

Brisbane’s auction volume is the highest its been in five years with 248 auctions going ahead this week and more than 700 auction campaigns currently under way in the Greater Brisbane region for auctions between now and December 11.

And the appetite for property continues with auction clearance rates as high as 89 per cent during last weekend’s auction blitz which saw as many as 160 properties go to auction.

“We had a record number of auctions in October, and November auction numbers are equalling October,” Place Estate Agents managing director Paul Curtain said. “A lot of the people who end up buying will turn around and sell the outgoing asset by Christmas, and we are giving them confidence to achieve that. We will have auctions to Christmas.”

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CoreLogic property data shows a revised overall auction clearance rate of 77.7 per cent for Brisbane last week.

Place Estate Agents recorded an 80.7 per cent clearance rate last weekend selling 42 of the 52 properties it took to auction with an average of 10 bidders per property.

Ray White reported a clearance rate of 88 per cent, well above the previous week’s 79 per cent.

Apollo Auctions had its strongest result of the year with an 89 per cent clearance rate, and an average of eight registered bidders, and realestate.com.au data from available results also pointed to an 89 per cent clearance rate for the week from October 18 to 24.

In highlights from the weekend, a man paid more than $1.5m for a house at 26 Overend St, Norman Park, despite seeing the property for the first time only 30 minutes before the auction.

Thirty-five registered bidders took 6 Verdun St, Alderley to auction where it sold to first-home buyers for $1.275m.

A two-bedroom house at 35 Birdwood Tce, Auchenflower made $500,000 in two years when it sold for $1.55m and the richest sale of the day was a renovated Queenslander at 180 Barton Rd, Hawthorne, that sold for $4m.

But it was an acreage property at 22 Garrawin Court, Clear Mountain that found the most unusual auction path, selling under the hammer for $1.22m despite the two bidders failing to get their finance approved.

LJ Hooker Albany Creek Agent Jonathan Wein negotiated between the buyers and seller and the auction was held but with a finance clause added, so both bidders could participate.

“There’s generally a feeling from the local market that we have to get in before the southern buyers hit our market properly,” Place Estate Agents chief auctioneer Peter Burgin said.

“I spoke to people about that specifically today and they feel things are going to get worse not better when that other layer of competition comes in.”

Ray White chief auctioneer Gavin Croft said the market was showing some urgency from buyers and he expected the energy in the local market to continue.

Place Woolloongabba’s James Curtain said interstate buyers were not as active as they were three to four months ago, however Apollo Auctions director Justin Nickerson said it was still unusual to call an auction without a phone buyer from Sydney or Melbourne.

“The interstate presence is still strong but the general rule with some exceptions is that local buyers are more commonly beating the interstate buyers,” Mr Nickerson said.

“They put more emphasis on the value of particular suburbs, but it would be unusual to have an auction without an interstate buyer.”

Inner ring suburbs were the focus of weekend Place auctions, with sales averaging $1.4m.

“One thing out there is this narrative of what will happen when the interstate borders open,” Mr Curtain said. “Will there be a flood of buyers? We still have strong interstate interest via the telephone or virtually. Will the borders see that increase? That will be a wait and see.”

Around 100 properties are heading to auction across Greater Brisbane today.

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