Pre-Christmas auctions: Dramatic increase in homes for sale ahead of the festive season, data shows

Property sellers will test their luck today – the last Saturday before Christmas – with an unusually large number of homes set to go to auction as the housing market recovers. 

With prices rising and interest rates low, buyers will battle it out in a final bid to snap up homes before the new year.

There are 150 auctions scheduled today across Sydney, more than double the 68 held on the corresponding Saturday last year and there are high hopes it will be another weekend of strong results.

Last Saturday, the city recorded a revised clearance rate of 77.5 per cent and a 32 per cent increase in listings compared to the same weekend in 2018 when the market was close to the bottom, on Domain figures.

In Melbourne, there are 329 scheduled auctions today, more than triple the 93 at this time last year. 

Meanwhile, Brisbane has 29 scheduled auctions, Adelaide has 39 and Canberra has 15.

Across the country, a total of 661 homes are set to go under the hammer amid rising property market sentiment sparked by regulatory changes to let buyers borrow more and the clear federal election result earlier this year.

Cooleys auctioneer Briannan Davis said while it was a quieter Saturday compared to last week, buyers and sellers were optimistic about their chances.

“The market has been good, and people are deciding to give it a go right before Christmas,” she said. “Where Christmas has fallen this year [means] there’s still the opportunity to have auctions before Christmas day.”

She said many would hedge their bets today in a bid to either sell or buy well before 2020.

“We never know how the new year will be; we hold our breath and see what the market will bring … vendors are taking the opportunity to give it a go.”

Retiree Coral Morrison decided to put her Baulkham Hills home of 50 years on the market. She and her family built the house on an empty block but have now found their dream acreage in Cowra.

“Sydney’s changing and it’s getting too fast-paced for these old birds, and we’re going for a tree change rather than a sea change,” Ms Morrison said. “You can get more for your money [in the country].”

While she was unsure about the impact of the time of year, it was “now or never”, Ms Morrison said.

“I missed the boat many years [ago] when the boom was. It was phenomenal what was happening in the area; it blew my brain. A lot of things were holding us back, but now things have come into alignment,” she said. 

Ms Morrison is hoping to get $1.2 million for the three-bedroom home, noting it falls into the catchment area of the sought-after Matthew Pearce Public School.

Ray White Parramatta, Oatland and Northmead selling agent Ash Singh said many buyers out today would be those who missed out in the second half of the year when auctions began to take off again.

“Coming into the pointy end of the season families are looking to capitalise before the end of the year,” he said. “They’re not new buyers. A lot of them are buyers who missed out during the year. They know they’re paying up to $50,000 more just to secure [a property before next year].”

He said the lack of homes on the market was driving strong price growth, adding first-home buyers, upsizers and investors had all shown interest in the “immaculate” house on the market for the first time.

The auction is one of 27 scheduled for Sydney’s north-west where the biggest number of the city’s sell-offs will occur.

It’s followed by 25 auctions in Western Sydney and 18 in the lower-north shore.

In Melbourne, the busiest region will be the north-east with 72 auctions scheduled, followed by 53 in the north-west and 44 in the inner city.

Auctionworks chief auctioneer and director Jesse Davidson said there would be stiff competition today due to the high number of buyers having little stock to choose from, despite the marked increase.

“The number of buyers is better this year than last year. I do envisage this Saturday to be a success; we’re all optimistic,” he said.

“The back end of the year has seen an influx of auctions, and that’s been for a multitude of reasons,” he said, adding the election result, low interest rates and relaxed lending conditions helped fuel growth. 

“We’re anticipating for that to hold into 2020.”