Morning Briefing: Post-Easter period could see a surge in listings

The head of a major real estate franchise believes owners in Australia should waste little time if they’re considering placing their property on the market... Auction market makes it two straight sub-70% weeks...

Post-Easter period could see a surge in listings
The head of a major real estate franchise believes owners in Australia should waste little time if they’re considering placing their property on the market.

With rumours swirling that the Federal Government is considering calling an early election, Angus Raine, executive chairman of Raine & Horne, believes owners considering selling should seriously consider placing their property on the market sooner rather than later.

“It's fair to say that when the Federal Government call an election, the campaign period – whether it's four, six or eight weeks – can create distractions for investment markets such as real estate,” Raine said.

“With this history in mind, coupled with the Canberra rumour mill that is already in full swing, I'd urge owners considering a sale in 2016 to list their property after Easter to avoid the election campaign drag,” he said.

With this year’s election campaign likely to feature heavy debate on taxation measures on housing, Greville Pabst, WBP Property Group executive chairman said it is highly likely that buyers may take a backward step once an election date is set.

Auction market makes it two straight sub-70% weeks
Australia’s auction market looks to have made it two straight weeks with a national clearance rate below 70%.

Despite the fact that auction volumes fell drastically last week thanks to a public holiday in three states, figures from CoreLogic RP Data have shown the preliminary national clearance rate currently sits at only 66.4%. 

Last week there were only 1,426 auctions held across Australia, compared to the 2,304 held the previous week, from which a clearance rate of 68.6% was recorded.

The public holiday meant Sydney was the busiest auction market last weekend, with 680 homes going under the hammer.

The city’s preliminary clearance rate currently sits at 72%, up from the previous week’s 68.7%.

Ryde was Sydney’s strongest performing sub-region, with a clearance rate of 86.2%, followed by the Eastern Suburbs at 85.4%.