74 Vasey Crescent in Campbell sold for $1,628,000. Photo: Supplied The Canberra housing market has surged into autumn with the local auction market recording unprecedented early season results for both buyers and sellers
Canberra recorded a remarkable clearance rate of 74.1 per cent over February which was the highest rate ever reported by the city for that month with the previous February record of 73.0 per cent set in 2010.
The monthly clearance rate record was achieved despite Canberra hosting its highest ever number of February auctions with 311 listed and well ahead of the previous peak of 263 set last year.
The latest Canberra result was higher than the 61.8 per cent recorded over December last year and well ahead of the 67.4 percent reported over February 2016.
Canberra sellers have returned to the auction market this year keen to take advantage of the continuing strong buyer competition for property with listings up by 18.3 per cent over compared to the same period last year.
The top Canberra regions for auction clearance rates over February were Woden Valley with 84.2 per cent and Belconnen with 80.5 per cent and the lowest Tuggeranong with 57.9 per cent
The top performing Canberra suburbs for auction activity for houses over February with 100 per cent clearance rates were Curtin from eight listings and a number of suburbs with four reported sales including Deakin, Dunlop, Florey and Hackett.
The top performing suburbs for units over February with 100 per cent clearance rates were Griffith from four reported listings and Ainslie and Garran each from two listings.
The Canberra home auction market has produced its strongest February performance on record with record listing numbers and high clearance rates.
The March market commences this weekend with significantly fewer auctions than last Saturday which will provide fertile ground for yet another strong result as buyer competition likely intensifies.
Low interest rates continue to be a catalyst for the recent robust performance by the Canberra housing market. The Reserve Bank meets next week for its regular monthly meeting and following a positive result for national economic growth over the December quarter announced by the ABS, official rates are almost certain to remain on hold.
The direction of mortgage rates however remains problematic with banks likely to continue to push rates higher in the shorter-term reflecting finance market and regulatory pressure.
Dr Andrew Wilson is Domain Group chief economist. Twitter@DocAndrewWilson