Canberra auction market solid after holiday pause as house prices boom

The Canberra home auction market resumed after the Easter holiday break with yet another healthy result for sellers.

Canberra recorded an auction clearance rate of 68.2 percent which was slightly lower than the 70.5 per cent reported over the pre-Easter Super Saturday weekend and lower also than the 75.0 per cent recorded over the same weekend last year.

46 homes were scheduled to go under the hammer in Canberra at the weekend which was higher than the 39 listed over the same weekend last year. Auction numbers will rise next weekend with 58 homes due to go under the hammer.

Weston Creek  reported the highest regional clearance rate at the weekend with 100 per cent from the single reported auction followed by Belconnen 92.9 per cent and the highest sales at 13, Canberra Central 80.0 per cent, Gungahlin and Woden Valley each with 66.7 per cent, and Tuggeranong with an auction clearance rate of 44.4 per cent.

Notable sales reported at the weekend included, a  5  bedroom home at 31 Tanami  Street Harrison sold for  $1,130,000 by Luton Properties – Weston, another 5  bedroom home at 1 Picton  Close Kaleen sold for  $975,000 by Luton Properties – Dickson, a  3  bedroom home at 25 Blair  Street Watson sold for  $855,000 also by Luton Properties – Dickson, a  4  bedroom home at 24 McGilvray  Close Gordon sold by One Agency Sandy Morris for  $726,000 and a  4  bedroom home at 1 Keene  Place Page sold for  $700,000 by Ray White – Belconnen.

The most expensive property reported sold at auction was a  3  bedroom home at 13 Throsby  Crescent Narrabundah sold for  $1,320,000 by Ray White – Kingston. The most affordable property reported sold at the weekend was a  3  bedroom home at 35/46 Paul Coe  Crescent Ngunnawal sold for  $360,000 by LJ Hooker Gungahlin.

For a list of Canberra auction results click here Canberra auction results April 22

Canberra recorded a median auction price of $625,000 on Saturday which was lower than the $765,000 reported the previous weekend and also 4.3 per cent higher than the $653,000 recorded over the same weekend last year. A total of $18.6m was reported sold at auction in Canberra at the weekend.

No surprise that this year’s strong Canberra auction market has translated into more robust prices growth.

Latest Domain data reports that the Canberra median house price surged by 5.3 per cent over the March quarter to a new record high of $705,059. This was the strongest price growth recorded by any of the capital cities. Canberra house prices have now increased by a remarkable 10.4 percent over the past year.

Although Canberra house prices are booming, local unit prices fell for the second consecutive quarter over March – down marginally by 0.6 per cent to $401,661. Lower unit prices reflect the recent surge in apartment construction with the median now down by 2.0 percent over the past year.

Low interest rates, rising confidence, higher migration and a strengthening local economy are key drivers of recent strong house price increases. ABS reports that the jobless rate in the ACT was steady over the year to March at 3.9 per cent – the lowest of all the capitals. All other capitals with the exception of Darwin and Adelaide reported increases in the jobless rate over the year.

Andrew Wilson is Domain Group Chief Economist Twitter@DocAndrewWilson join on LinkedIn and Facebook at MyHousingMarket