Quicker sales at auctions in 4Q14 with more properties sold upon first listing

As both buyers and sellers compromise.

4Q14 saw quicker sales at auctions, largely attributable to a smaller mismatch between the price expectations of sellers and buyers.

Based on JLL’s data, the proportion (by sales value) of properties sold upon their first listing for auction has been increasing over the past three quarters. This proportion reached 90 per cent in 4Q14, considerably higher than the 80 per cent and 54 per cent recorded in 3Q14 and 2Q14, respectively (refer to Chart 1).

The higher pace of sales in 2014 is attributable to the compromises on both the purchasers’ end and the vendors’ end, leading to the convergence in price expectations.

Sellers are now more willing to lower price expectations in light of the weaker market conditions, whereas from the buyers’ perspective, the anticipation of a potential relaxation of cooling measures alongside the expected rise of interest rates in the immediate horizon could have encouraged these purchases.