The author has been described by News Ltd as an "iconoclast", "Svengali", a pollie's "economist muse", and "pungently accurate". Fairfax says he is a "Renaissance man" and "one of Australia’s most respected analysts." Stephen Koukoulas concludes that he is "85% right", and "would make a great Opposition leader." Terry McCrann claims the author thinks "‘nuance’ is a trendy village in the south of France", but can be "scintillating" when he thinks "clearly". The ACTU reckons he’s "an enigma wrapped in a Bloomberg terminal, wrapped in some apparently well-honed abs."

Monday, October 1, 2012

Weekend auction clearance rates strong at 62% (AFR)

From APM via the AFR today:

More than 300 homes were auctioned in Sydney at the weekend, about 62 per cent of which were sold, according to figures from Australian Property Monitors. Clearance rates beyond 60 per cent are considered strong – last year it was common for only half of a weekend’s offerings to be sold on auction day.

“It’s certainly another encouraging auction clearance rate for Sydney,” APM senior economist Andrew Wilson said. “There were solid numbers of homes auctioned despite the distractions of the Labour Day long weekend and the footy finals.”

“It’s another good sign the Sydney market is certainly performing better than it was a year ago,” Dr Wilson said. “The real test is whether this sort of momentum can be maintained over the next six to eight weeks when we get a higher number of listings coming through.”