Auctions in Queensland have grown in popularity since the pandemic and are now considered by many as the best way to sell a property.

The method of sale can be tremendously high yielding, as the tension of competition drives up bidding prices, sometimes to a level that far exceeds market expectations.

However, without the presence of high demand or motivated, registered bidders, the auction market can appear to lose momentum, with a drop in reported clearance rates.

It is a trend currently being experienced across the country, including the Gold Coast, where the latest auction results from Core Logic show the clearance rate dipped to 52.5 per cent last week.

Traditionally, the market tends to cool when the temperature drops, and at the point when one financial year rolls into another. Yet, there are other elements at play.

According to Apollo Auctions Director Justin Nickerson, social and economic factors are contributing to the recent regional dip, including the lead-up to the Queensland state election set for 26 October.

“We’re in an election year and that can often lead to uncertainty in the housing market,” Justin says.

“There is a distinct sense of ‘let’s wait and see until the election is over’ among buyers and sellers,” he says.

Interest rates are also having an impact, as people wait to see what the Reserve Bank’s next move will be, with the next cash rate announcement due on 6 August.

“Interest rate uncertainty, tends to cause a level of confusion among vendors around when and how is the best way to sell, depending on what rates are doing.”

Quality of product is also a driver, says Justin, with many buyers now leaning towards turn-key properties that require little, to no additional renovation or structural amendments.

“Something I have personally noticed is that today’s buyers still tend to prefer finished products,’ he says.

“The alternative is just too tough in terms of navigating high building costs alongside finding the right tradespeople to do the work.”

There are many advantages to selling and buying at auction.

“As a vendor you are dealing with unconditional buyers, which brings the point of decision around quicker,” Justin says.

“The results Kollosche has achieved in the past year certainly supports that.”

According to Kollosche Managing Director Michael Kollosche, auctions remain the most effective sales method in any market because they offer both sellers and buyers the highest level of transparency.

Kollosche has proven this over the past financial year, defying the wider market results to post an overall clearance rate of 96.15 per cent and achieving some of the biggest sales results Queensland has seen under the hammer.

Two of the city’s most iconic homes – 59 The Corso, Isle of Capri, and 5 McMillan Drive, Southport – went under the hammer late last year, with both breaking the auction record for Queensland when they sold for $24,000,0000 and $24,8000,000 respectively.

These results served to reshape the auction landscape of the Gold Coast in way that short-term market dips are unlikely to have any lasting effects.