Big June day for Sydney auctions following holiday pause

Sydney is set to host high numbers of June auctions this weekend as the market moves back into top gear following last weekend’s pause in activity due to the Queen’s Birthday holiday.

More than 650 homes are likely to go under the hammer on Saturday, which is set to be the third highest weekend offering so far this year. This weekend’s auction numbers will also be amongst the highest ever conducted on a June Saturday and just behind the record boom-time listings reported over June last year.

Sydney’s inner west will host the highest number of auctions this weekend with 115, followed by the south 96, the city and east 84, the upper north shore 74, the lower north 59, the northern beaches 52, the south west 39, the west 38, the north west 30, the central coast 23, the Canterbury Bankstown 19 and the Blue Mountains with no auctions scheduled this weekend.

Strathfield will be the most popular suburb for auctions in Sydney on Saturday with 11 listed, followed by Ashfield with 10, Mosman, Bexley and Lane Cove North each with nine and several suburbs with seven auctions listed, including St Ives, Manly and Dee Why.

The Sydney home auction market reported significantly lower results last weekend following the boom conditions of the previous month.

Sydney recorded a clearance rate of 70.1 per cent, which was well down on the 80.1 per cent recorded the previous weekend and also down on the 83.3 per cent reported over the same weekend last year.

Saturday’s auction results were clearly impacted by the Queen’s Birthday holiday weekend with low numbers of homes listed to go under the hammer.

Just 284 auctions were conducted, which was significantly fewer than the 549 auctioned over the previous weekend and also well below the 396 listed over the Queen’s Birthday holiday last year.

Sydney’s regional results last weekend followed the recent pattern of inner-suburban higher-priced regions producing the highest results, although the south recorded a strong result after a period of relatively subdued activity.

Low interest rates and rising investor activity continue to fuel the resurgent Sydney housing market and although the Reserve Bank predictable decided to keep interest rates on hold over June, the prospects remain for another rate cut sooner rather than late this year.

The ABS reported that residential investor activity in NSW increased over April despite significant disruptions to the market from an unusual lengthy holiday period during the month. The value of investor lending for established homes increased by 0.3 per cent over the month to $4.67 billion – the third consecutive monthly increase.

This weekend of high auction numbers is set to challenge the recently hot Sydney market with results providing a more robust indication of underlying market conditions

Dr Andrew Wilson is Domain Group’s chief economist

Twitter @DocAndrewWilson

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