Vendors have been advised to do research and determine whether auction is the most appropriate method of sale for their property.
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Last weekend, Wollongong had an auction clearance rate of just 38 per cent.
Of the confirmed results on properties that went to auction in the Wollongong area, 10 of 26 sold.
Early results indicated a clearance rate of 49.8 per cent across the combined capital cities. This was up from 47.0 per cent the previous week, but much lower than a year ago (64.7 per cent).
According to Australian Property Monitors, auction clearance rate figures for houses during the six months to July included Figtree (35.5 per cent), Wollongong (50 per cent) and Fairy Meadow (50 per cent).
For units in Wollongong, in the six months to July the clearance rate was 42.9 per cent.
Leanne Pilkington is president of the Real Estate Institute of NSW, an industry advocacy body.
She said last weekend’s Wollongong result was lower than she had seen in most other areas.
However, Ms Pilkington said this was a small snapshot of the Wollongong market, and it would be a mistake to focus on it too much.
Ms Pilkington said you needed to look at the individual properties, and factors such as whether sellers were realistic with price and if the marketing campaign was executed effectively.
“I think what you need to focus on if you’re going to go to auction in Wollongong is to make sure you’ve got the right strategy,” she said.
“Not every property is best served by auction.
“Some agents just want to put everything to auction, and that can impact on the clearance rate.
“If I was looking at auctioning a property in Wollongong, I’d be looking at the agent’s results for properties like mine.”
Ms Pilkington also said it can be somewhat misleading just to look at clearance rates, as auction campaigns were a three-stage strategy.
This means properties can sell before auction, on the day or in the two weeks afterwards.
“But there’s no arguing that prices are coming down, and clearance rates are nowhere near where they were 12 months ago,” she said.
A property that did sell in the region over the weekend is the four-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 14 Camden Grove, Figtree.
According to Australian Property Monitors it sold for $750,000, having previously sold in 2016 for $705,000.
Conversely, a home that didn't sell was 21 New Mount Pleasant Road, Balgownie.
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom home is on the market for the first time since 1986.
The property has a price guide of $1,050,000 to $1,150,000.
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