sales it was 41 . While these numbers are higher than the average of the past two years ( 32 ), the trend we ’ ve seen since the start of the year of increasing days did not continue in September .
This steadying of the market has also been reflected in another important metric - clearance rates . A clearance rate shows the percentage of properties that are sold by a certain number of days since they came onto the market . We think the 45 days clearance rate is most relevant . For August , the 45 day auction clearance rate averaged 62 per cent . For context , at the height of the boom in November last year , it was 76 per cent and it was 70 per cent in March of this year . The 45 day private treaty clearance rate averaged 38 per cent ( 59 per cent in November 2021 and 55 per cent in March 2022 ). Again , these clearance rates have stopped falling in recent months .
Another sign of a more consistent market was our auction bidder statistics . We recorded an average of 2.5 active bidders per auction in September . While this is only a marginal increase on August , it ’ s the first increase in bidder numbers we ’ ve seen this year .
One might assume that given these statistics , there must be many more properties being sold via auction . However , this isn ’ t the case . The percentage of total new listings being marketed via auction has remained flat at around 34 per cent , well down from the near 40 per cent mark earlier this year .
So in summary , our September figures illustrate :
• a consistent level of sales being made as per recent months , but missing the traditional spring lift in activity ;
• a steadying of the median days on market , clearance rates , and auction bidder numbers for the first time since earlier this year , showing a narrowing of the gap between seller and buyer ; and
• early signs of a reduction in new listings and auctions , which again is unusual for this time of year , and also unusual given the improvement in the key metrics we monitor . market . There was no shortage of media stories that might put doubt in the minds of potential sellers , and give them reason to delay any plans to sell .
However , there ’ s still 2.5 months until Christmas and we may still see more stock come to market , especially if October activity continues to follow the trends of September . And potential vendors that are contemplating whether to wait until 2023 will begin to recognise the risks of doing so , given the range of domestic and international issues that may come into play the longer they wait .
On another matter , it ’ s not surprising , based on the information above , that our own internal median price indices show that after a period of price decline since early 2022 , they ’ ve flattened out over the past few months . These indices also show the outperformance of the Queensland market , especially in comparison to New South Wales and Victoria . The growth of Brisbane ’ s median house price over the past three years has been twice that of Sydney and more than three times that of Melbourne .
There are no doubt many factors contributing to the growth of Queensland ’ s median prices , but high on the list must be its population growth which has been by far the strongest of all states in recent years . Its significantly lower capital city median house price is another .
Finally , a look at our customer experience numbers . Have our customers rated their experience of selling and buying differently since the start of the new interest rate cycle and changes in the market ? Our results show us that our scores ( we use the Net Promoter Score ( NPS ) regime have remained very steady over the past 12 months , despite a more challenging result for sellers . Our overall NPS scores sit within a + 79 to + 82 range on a monthly basis over the past 12 months . This reminds us that the experience we provide our members , and the service we deliver , is determined by our creativity , effort and ability to create competition and not on the state of the market itself .
Dan White Managing Director Ray White Group
It seems the extensive and consistent negative media headlines we ’ ve seen in recent months are taking a toll on the confidence of potential sellers to come to
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