Latest CoreLogic figures reveal Adelaide’s clearance rate was higher in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year.

It recorded a clearance rate of 52.3 per cent in the March 2020 quarter – slightly higher than the 48.8 per cent in the March 2019 quarter.

The figures were based on 827 auctions held in the first quarter of this year and 933 at the same time last year.

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Williams Real Estate agent and auctioneer Hamish Mill said the federal election and uncertainty about negative gearing were to blame for the lower clearance rate this time last year.

“It took a whole lot of investors out of our market – the investors were not attending (auctions) or buying due to that,” he said.

While bans on open homes and in-room and on-site auctions to stop the spread of COVID-19 have taken a toll on the market, Mr Mill said it was still going strong.

“People always need a roof over their heads, whether they’re buying or renting,” he said.

“We’re having lots of inquiries so it’s not all doom and gloom.”

Real Estate Institute of South Australia president Brett Roenfeldt said the lack of stock on the market, even before the restrictions were enforced, led to a higher clearance rate this year.

“Agents are all saying the same thing – they’re making sales, there’s no question about that, and there’s good buyer inquiry on those sales,” he said.

“There’s very little stock for buyers to pick and choose from though.”

Mr Roenfeldt said many of the sales recorded in late March would have been achieved before auction but under auction conditions, meaning they were still captured in the clearance rate.

He said the clearance rate was considered normal for Adelaide.

While the March 2020 quarter’s clearance rate is higher than last year’s, it is down on the December 2019 quarter, which was 57.4 per cent based on 1385 auctions.

CoreLogic head of research Australia Eliza Owen said many auctions across the country had been withdrawn in recent weeks, and the next few months would present an unprecedented challenge to the market.

“However, once the virus is contained, property is looking increasingly better placed for a recovery because of the high levels of monetary and fiscal stimulus available,” she said.