Raine & Horne is urging vendors to continue using auctions to sell their property, even as winter sets in.

“In Hobart,” said James Pratt, Director Auction Services Raine & Horne, “temperatures are getting closer to winter averages, yet we saw 100% auction clearances last Saturday.”

“To be fair, the Hobart auction pool is significantly smaller than the larger mainland capitals, but even so, mainland clearance rates were still pretty healthy last weekend,” said Pratt.

The Sydney market recorded an auction clearance rate of 72% last weekend, followed closely by Melbourne with 71%, according to Raine & Horne Auction Services. The next best clearance rate was Adelaide with 61%.

Pratt said the number of properties listed for auction is lower than at this time last year.

“Auction numbers in Sydney are down about 10%, for example, compared with the numbers recorded in late autumn 2015,” said Pratt.

“The low number of auction listings in Sydney is helping to underpin relatively healthy prices with buyers left over from last year’s boom market and foreign investors propping up prices,” he said.

The Federal Election will be a distraction over the next two months, according to Pratt. Ongoing debate about residential property taxes, tighter lending conditions, the falling Australian dollar, and a flat economy will also weigh on sentiment, he said.

“That said,” Pratt continued, “with a winter auction, vendors will have less competition as the listing and stock numbers are shallower.”

“There is also merit in selling in winter before a surplus of high-rise apartment buildings hits the market later in the year, as we face the prospect of a temporary over-supply in Sydney,” suggested Pratt.

This weekend, Pratt says Mosman, Marrickville and Alexandria will be popular suburbs for auctions in Sydney, with six or seven properties scheduled to go under the hammer in each suburb. Surry Hills, Rozelle and Lane Cove will each have about five properties going to auction.

“These are low auction listing numbers even for this time of year,” said Pratt, “yet there are still plenty of committed buyers around. These conditions make a winter auction a viable selling option for vendors.”

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