Geelong's real estate market showed further signs of improvement in the June quarter with an auction clearance rate more than 10 per cent better than the previous period.

However the volume of auctions is nearly half the amount taken to market in public during the same period last year, CoreLogic reported in its quarterly auction market review.

There were 250 auctions and 56.4 per cent resulted in sales in the three months to June 30 in the Geelong region, the property data analysts reported.

During the same time last year, 553 homes were taken to auction, with a 70.2 per cent success rate.

Nationally, there were 18,104 auctions and 55.5 per cent resulted in sales, compared to 25,824 homes taken to auction in 2018, 57.8 per cent successfully.

Barry Plant, Highton agent Kieron Hunter said the change in auction volume in Geelong showed the difference between a boom market in 2018 compared to a property slump in 2019.

“Auctions are always going to be preferred in a rising market. To a degree, Highton and Belmont really got introduced to auction as a preferred option in the past three years,” Mr Hunter said.

“It was a rising market and everybody started to do it and that spanned out to Grovedale where a few years ago you wouldn’t have even thought about running an auction.”

Mr Hunter said auctions had become more targeted as the market cooled, the properties listed as speculative auctions in 2018, back to being private sale.

“I think auctions have stayed there though, even now the option is there — it’s preferred when the market’s going well.”

Mr Hunter said he thought volumes would to last year’s levels in the coming spring quarter.

“It’s just you’re comparing a boom market to a slump. Last year it was flying into June and in August and September it peeled off so even to have half the amount the amount of auctions is still good.”

CoreLogic analyst Cameron Kusher said auction results were highly correlated with housing market conditions particular in Melbourne, which recorded a 59.5 per cent clearance rate from 7838 auctions.

“The improved trend in auction market results provides further evidence that housing conditions are stabilised, especially in Sydney and Melbourne, where a trend towards higher clearance rates has been more pronounced.”

Melbourne had 352 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 73.6 per cent, last weekend, compared to 559 auctions and a 56.2 per cent clearance rate a year ago.

Seven out of 11 properties scheduled for auction in Geelong last weekend found a buyer either under the hammer or had sold earlier last week.

Source: news.com.au Author: Peter Farago