Auction clearance rates have plunged to their lowest level since Australia’s first COVID-19 lockdowns, with fewer than half the number of homes auctioned sold as buyers facing high mortgage rates opt to wait out the housing correction.
The clearance rate dropped to 44 per cent even though the number of auctions scheduled in the capital cities has dwindled 41 per cent below the level a year ago, according to preliminary figures compiled by data provider, Cotality. It is the lowest preliminary clearance rate since April 2020 when pandemic lockdowns upended the market.
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