Welcome to the September edition of “The Hammer Report”.

You may have noticed it’s been a few months since the last report, the reason being is we are now producing the report on a quarterly basis which will give you much clearer trends and indications of the Auction performance.

The July/September quarter, benchmarked against the April/June quarter, produced some extremely strong results which may be indicative of a lower number of properties on the market hovering around the 13,000 mark (same time last year at 14,100) or a more positive sentiment in the market that the WA economy is becoming more robust. Either way the Auction method of sale once again proved its worth.

One of the core statistics we monitor to benchmark the “success” of an auction, is the clearance rate – that is what percentage of properties sell within a 35-40 day period. The reason being, a seller needs to ensure their property is sold within this time frame otherwise they will most likely need to lower their price to meet the market. Over the July/September

Over the July/September quarter, the clearance rate was 92% within a 40-day period, with a WA market average of 68 days, a spectacular result by all accounts.

The April/June quarter under the hammer rate was very weak at 21% which rose to 53% July/September quarter and within that success rate was some results that re-set market confidence.

Moving into the last quarter of the year and the low number of properties on the market, I would expect the under the hammer rate to increase and the total clearance rate to site in the 90% range.

There are several methods a seller can utilise to sell their home, none that provide the profile, transparency and proficiency than a well-run auction.