Australian Residential Real Estate Activity Picking Up Amid Weakened Market

Australia's residential real estate market has shown signs of improvement as the key spring property season nears its end. According to data from Cotality, almost 1,600 homes were taken to auction last weekend across capital cities.

This represents an increase from a week ago but is still about 34% lower than the same time last year, when volumes were higher due to a more buoyant market. The market has been affected by government property tax changes in May and three Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate increases this year.

Tim Lawless, research director at Cotality, noted that 'the spring pattern of more stock coming to market is taking shape, albeit at lower levels than a year ago.' He also predicted that activity will pick up this week with over 1,900 homes scheduled for auction before easing towards the end of September.

The latest results show a continued weakening in the nation's housing market. House prices have dropped by 3.6% from their March peak, according to Cotality's data. While last weekend's auction clearance rates rose to 58.5%, the highest in 19 weeks, they remain well below levels seen a year ago.