Record Super Saturday test arrives with Sydney auction market sinking fast

Sydney will host its highest –ever day of September auctions this Saturday with the local early spring market weakening sharply over recent weeks.

Nearly 1000 homes are listed to go under the hammer at the weekend, which is well ahead of the 832 listed last weekend and the 723 auctioned over the same weekend last year.

Record numbers of September auctions have been a feature of the Sydney market this year with supply now clearly catching up with demand. The last Saturday in September is typically the first auction Super Saturday of the spring selling season as sellers flood the market to avoid the distractions of the Labour Day holiday weekend the following Saturday.

The inner west will yet again clearly host the highest number of auctions of all the suburban regions on Saturday with 139 listings. Next highest is the upper north shore with 130 followed by the south with 127, the city and east 111, the lower north 86, the west 84, the south west 74, the northern beaches 70, Canterbury Bankstown 66, the north west 59, the central coast 23 and the Blue Mountains 1.

The leading suburb for auctions this weekend is again Mosman with 174 followed by Baulkham Hills and Ashfield each with 13, Chatswood, Manly and Redfern each with11 and a number of suburbs with 10 auctions listed on Saturday including Bexley, Carlingford, Blacktown and Paddington.

Sydney’s weekend home auction market continues to slide with the housing cycle now on the downswing and overriding the usual early spring bounce in activity.

Last Saturday’s clearance rate of 71.3 percent was again lower than the 72.4 percent recorded the previous weekend and significantly below the 83.9 percent reported over the same weekend last year.

Saturdays result was again the lowest result recorded so far this year and the lowest spring Saturday rate recorded by Sydney for three years. Sydney’s clearance rates have trended sharply downwards since July with the emerging prospect of a result below 70 percent in coming weekends. This is a startling turnaround given Sydney clearance rates peaking at nearly 90 percent in May – just 4 months ago.

A two-speed auction market is emerging in Sydney with lower priced outer suburban regions recording rates reflecting a buyers’ market on the rise in these areas. Four regions reported clearance rates below 60 percent last weekend indicating reduced activity from first home buyers, investors and general affordability barriers subduing buyers in these areas.

Higher priced inner and middle suburban areas however continue to report reasonably healthy early spring results.

Lower clearance rates are now impacting trend auction prices in Sydney with this weekend’s result of $1,117,500 down from the$1,133,750 recorded the previous weekend but still 16.0 percent above the $977,625 trend recorded over the same weekend last year.

The balance of power is clearly shifting towards buyers in the Sydney weekend auction market generally with lower prices growth set to follow.

This weekend’s record-breaking super Saturday of auctions will certainly provide another massive test for the local market with more choice for buyers and more competition between sellers.

Dr Andrew Wilson is Domain Group Senior Economist Twitter@DocAndrewWilson The Property Show expert 2UE Saturdays 12.30-1pm