Sydney and Melbourne auctions ‘performing well’

Property investment loans may be on a lot of people's minds in Sydney and Melbourne, as the cities continue to post impressive auction clearance rates.

The NSW capital is the stand-out performer, according to Australian Property Monitors (APM), with an 81.6 per cent success rate at this weekend's (August 17th and 18th) auctions.

Dr Andrew Wilson, senior economist at APM, said this is the sixth weekend in a row that clearance rates have surpassed 80 per cent in Sydney.

"Sydney's suburban regions recorded some outstanding auction clearance rates at the weekend, with the west reporting a 93 per cent rate followed by the upper north shore and the lower north shore each recording strong weekend auction clearance rates of 89 per cent," he stated.

If the market continues to perform at this level over the next few weeks, it will mark the strongest ever August in terms of auctions sales, he added.

Home loan data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) supports this, Dr Wilson added, with an 18.7 per cent surge in financing for NSW dwelling purchases recorded in the first six months of 2013.

Commenting on the Melbourne market, the expert said clearance rates reached 75 per cent last weekend – the highest this year.

The August average is 71.6 per cent, which compares favourably to this time last year when it was just 52.1 per cent.

"Melbourne's eastern suburbs are leading the charge in increased auction market activity this month recording strong clearance rates at the weekend," said Dr Wilson.

The economist again cited ABS figures, noting that home loans in Victoria jumped 8.9 per cent over the first six months of the year, when compared with the same period in 2012.

This is no surprise, he claimed, with many first home buyers able to take advantage of government grants.