March Auction Boom Records High Property Listings but Lower Sales Rates

Date Published: 5 April 2024

Key Facts

• Auctions of residential properties in the last week of March were high at 527, down from 568 in the previous week.
• The overall sales rate has seen a decline, with only 28% of properties sold under the hammer.
• Despite the drop, March remained a busy month for the residential property market, with auctions activity significantly higher than the same period last year.
• From 2-29 March 2024, 2157 properties were monitored at auctions, more than double the 1048 properties auctioned during the equivalent week of last year.
• The sales rate in March this year was almost static at 32%, compared to 33% in March 2023, indicating that while there was a rise in auction activities, the sales rate didn’t increase correspondingly.

Article Summary

In the last week of March, the number of properties presented at auctions remained high, though fewer were sold under the hammer. While the rate of 147 out of 527 properties sold represents a decline in overall sales rate to 28%, March still remained a typically active month for the residential property market.

A comparison with historical data shows an uptick in auction activity compared to the same period last year. The four weeks between 2-29 March 2024 registered a monitoring of 2157 properties at auctions, a sharp increase from 1048 in the same period last year.

Interestingly, this increased auction activity did not translate into a higher sales rate. Despite the increased bustle at the auction rooms, the sales rate also saw a standstill, landing at 32% for March this year, as against 33% for the same period last year. This suggests that despite the residential property market being busier, there has been little change in the sales rate since the same period last year when the market was experiencing a significant slump.

Source Link: To read the full article, click here.