more pain to come, page-5

Auctions slump signals end of boom

Article from: Sunday Herald Sun

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Tony Rindfleisch and Eleni Hale

February 24, 2008 12:00am

MELBOURNE'S rampaging property boom has finally cooled after years of soaring prices.

Auctions failed to fire yesterday and the Real Estate Institute of Victoria last night declared the market had peaked and prices were easing.

In the first big test for the market this year, some real estate agents reported clearance rates of less than 60 per cent.

The figures are well below last year's high-flying results, which consistently topped 80 per cent clearance.

Few buyers attended sales across the metropolitan area and those who did nervously sat on their hands.

Auctions in outlying suburbs were especially quiet.

Even "bargain" homes offered at foreclosure auctions failed to sell