With school holidays now upon us and the AFL Grand Final being held next Saturday, residential auction sales will offer the slimmest of pickings over the next few weekends. Those who managed to secure their new property over the last few weeks will be well pleased with their acquisitions and many of those will be looking at selling their own property in the last handful of auction weeks remaining prior to Christmas. We anticipate that stock levels through this traditionally very busy Spring period will still be lower than hoped leading to continued upward pressure on prices.

Many vendors have reacted to strong results over the last few months with elevated reserve prices and most will maintain a firm stance, which may show clearance rates dipping a little. But be careful about judging the strength of our marketplace based simply on the numbers of auctions sold and passed in; the prices being achieved are ultimately the better guide, and in this area there are few – if any – signs of a slowdown.

Justin Long