Weekend property auction results point to another buoyant year

Posted on 2010-02-11

 

DESPITE the threat of more interest rate hikes, the nation's property market continues its stellar run, with strong clearance rates on the first big auction weekend of the year. The clearance rate in Melbourne shot to 66.2 per cent, compared with only 49.2 per cent a year ago, according to Australian Property Monitors. Agents in Melbourne listed more than twice as many properties on Saturday than they did a year ago, putting 161 properties under the hammer. Buyers and vendors in Sydney defied the stormy weather, with 67 per cent of the 137 listed properties selling at auction. Sydney also hosted Saturday's dearest sale, when a five-bedroom house in Strathfield sold for $1.8 million. Even the smaller auction markets of Brisbane and Adelaide had strong results, with clearance rates on track to follow record growth late last year. APM head of research Yvonne Chan said the figures showed property markets were streaking ahead. "The market now is a major improvement on what we had a year ago," she said. "And with the improved unemployment rate and no change to interest rates last week, the auction clearance rate should stay strong." But Real Estate Institute of Australia president David Airey warned that rising interest rates could spoil property's strong run. "The interest rate figure is the unknown quantity that affects every area of the economy," he said. "Everything we do is affected by borrowing costs, because Australians are very heavy borrowers." The weekend's impressive results are a continuation of last year's housing boom. APM economist Matthew Bell said the medium- to long-term outlook for property prices remained strong "as high population growth, rising incomes and a relative lack of new supply means there will simply be more demand for housing than supply". Source: The Australian News Paper

 

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