REIV: Weather’s cold, but local auction market’s hot

It’s cold outside but regional Victoria’s auction market is heating up.

Maybe it’s the excitement and buzz that an auction format generates or perhaps we are less likely to treat property and money issues as taboo as previous generations may have, but more regional property owners are opting to sell via auction than ever before.

In 2010, the proportion of all Victorian auction sales in regional areas was just 3.5 per cent with that ratio consistently climbing over recent years to reach 7.6 per cent in 2018.

So far in 2018, 1,533 properties have gone under the hammer in regional Victoria with 69.3 per cent of them selling, compared with a 65.7 per cent clearance rate for metropolitan Melbourne.

Greater Geelong and the Surf Coast have hosted the largest number of auctions outside metropolitan Melbourne so far in 2018.

Greater Geelong well and truly led the charge, accounting for 651 auctions with 78 per cent resulting in sales. There were 106 auctions held in the Surf Coast municipality with an impressive resulting 84 per cent clearance rate.

A clearance rate of more than 70 per cent generally indicates that the market in that region favours sellers.

Other regional areas that have embraced the auction technique, with varying levels of success, include Macedon Ranges with 80 auctions so far in 2018 and a clearance rate of 66.3 per cent, Ballarat with 67 auctions and a 79.1 per cent clearance rate, Campaspe with 62 auctions and a clearance rate of 61.3 per cent, Greater Bendigo with 58 auctions and a clearance rate of 44.8 per cent, Mitchell Shire with 58 auctions and a 72.4 per cent clearance rate and Greater Shepparton which achieved a clearance rate of 56.9 per cent from 51 auctions.

There were 3558 auctions held in Victoria during June 2018, the highest number recorded for the winter month. Statewide 2161 properties exchanged hands contributing to a clearance rate of 60.7 per cent.

Auctions made up 24.2 per cent of all estimated Victorian transactions in the 12 months to June 2018.

For more information on auction results by town, visit reiv.com.au/market-insights.