Canberra auction clearance rates remain under 60 per cent as buyers weigh up options

According to CoreLogic's preliminary auction results, Canberra reported a 57 per cent clearance rate for the week ending Sunday.

Of the 86 auction results provided to CoreLogic on Monday, 49 homes sold either prior, at or in the days after the auction, while 37 were either withdrawn or passed in.

It's a slight decrease on last week's final clearance rate of 58.3 per cent. This time last year, Canberra's auction clearance rate was 88.1 per cent.

Jacob Stanton of The Property Collective saw both ends of the spectrum at the weekend, with one of his properties selling before auction and another passing in on auction day.

Mr Stanton said there was strong interest in 27 Enid Lorimer Circuit, Chisholm ahead of Saturday's auction.

"We actually had four registered bidders, so not a bad turnout given the current climate and we had probably 40 to 50 inspections in the lead up to the auction as well," he said.

Despite the solid buyer interest, bidding stalled and the property was passed in. It has now been listed with a price guide of $949,000.

In contrast, the auction of 7 Helen Mayo Crescent, Bonython didn't go ahead as planned at the weekend after a buyer swooped in with an offer of $1.2 million last Friday.

Mr Stanton said the varied results are to be expected, given Canberra's clearance rates have normalised since last year.

"One in two properties are selling at auction or before auction," he said.

"The auction campaign is a good method to try find the most motivated or interested parties, unconditionally, and you also get some market feedback and we can take that into consideration when pricing properties post-auction if they don't sell," he said.

"But I am finding that properties are getting offers accepted within two to three weeks at the maximum after auction."

On Sunday, two bidders registered for the auction of 209 Beasley Street, Mawson which sits on nearly 1400 square metres of land.

The hammer fell with a final bid of $1,315,000.

"It was one of those homes that the block was the main, primary focus for a lot of buyers," selling agent Lauren McDonald of Hayman Partners said.

"The successful buyers that did end up purchasing the property, they're planning on building their dream home."

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Ms McDonald agreed auction clearance rates had returned to "normal" conditions.

"Two and a half years ago when we were selling properties, it was very much the similar thing: you take a property to auction and you had a 50-50 chance of being able to sell it," she said.

She said the potential for more interest rate rises was weighing on some buyers' minds.

"People have been mindful and obviously every time the interest rates go up, brokers are lending them less money," she said.

"So it is definitely a combination of things but it is a more normal market now."

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