Sydney's auction clearance rate hits highest point in 24 years
Sydney’s auction market has had its biggest result in 24 years, as the preliminary clearance rate reached 88.7 per cent at the weekend.
The huge result was recorded after 408 auctions were listed and 293 results reported on Saturday. Eighteen properties were withdrawn from auction and were counted as not sold as part of the clearance rate.
Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell said it was the highest clearance result since June 14, 1997, when the finalised clearance rate was 89 per cent after 226 auctions.
Although the weekend’s preliminary results would be revised down by 5 percentage points, it was still an indication of the strength of Sydney’s market, Dr Powell said.
“We do expect a bounce early in the auction season because there are lower volumes of homes for sale and more home buyers on the market after the holidays,” she said. “That said, it’s a very robust result and highlights the market is in an upswing and it is a very competitive market,” she said.
Agents reported huge numbers of buyers at auctions over the weekend as homes, in particular, smashed reserve prices by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
One of the biggest results at the weekend was a six-bedroom “rough diamond” home at 18 Lennox Street, Gordon, that sold under the hammer for $3.17 million, $670,000 above the reserve.
Such was the buyer interest in the property on Sydney’s upper north shore, the auction was moved forward a week, Ray White Upper North Shore’s Scott Phillips said.
There were 14 bidders registered on the day, with seven actively bidding.
Many were hoping to knock down and rebuild the old home, originally built in the 1920s and renovated in the 1970s. It still had red and green shag-pile carpet from the era inside.
The buyers were a young family, who had been looking for a property in Gordon for the past two years to be close to the local schools, Mr Phillips said.
Although buyers were out in force, vendors were yet to come back to the market, he said.
“There’s no real kind of surge of properties coming from what we can see. Maybe in another six weeks there may be more volume coming in but there are no real signs there is going to be a flood in this area,” Mr Phillips said.
It was a similar story in inner-west Sydney where a four-bedroom home that had been built three years ago attracted 22 registered bidders.
The home at 46A Dennison Street, Rozelle, had an opening bid of $2.64 million, above the $2.6 million reserve. The property sold under the hammer for $3.08 million with six remaining bidders fighting it out.
BresicWhitney director Adrian Oddi said most interested buyers, predominantly families, were knocked out by the huge opening bid.
“I would say in my 20 years in the game, Dennison Street was the most hotly contested auction I’ve ever had,” Mr Oddi said.
The buyers were a family who lived close by to the property, he said.
Mr Oddi was also the selling agent on a three-bedroom house at 4 Waterview Street, Balmain, that sold under the hammer for $2,265,000.
Three bidders registered for the auction, including two families and a couple, who all bid to buy. One of the families was the winning bidders.
Although the property had an opening bid of $2 million, it was a much more subdued affair.
“It was a much more normal auction,” Mr Oddi said.
Buyer activity in the inner west had ramped up, especially over the past three weeks, where BresicWhitney agents showed 750 people through eight properties listed for sale.
“People are buying right now in a low stock environment so there’s lots of competition.
“When the RBA (Reserve Bank) sends a message that interest rates are going to stay low for the next three or four years I can’t see that slowing down.”
Back on the upper north shore, a home with five bedrooms at 19 Essex Street, Killara, sold under the hammer for $2.87 million.
Raine & Horne Pymble/Gordon selling agent Wayne Walter said there were 18 registered bidders, mainly young families, looking to buy the home, which boasted a pool.
The vendors were selling to downsize and were pleased with the above-expectation result.
Mr Walter said another property at 4 Clifford Street, Gordon, with a price guide of about $2 million had sold at the weekend for $2.54 million.
Nine bidders registered with the buyers, a couple who wanted to move out of the strata they had bought into.
“They sold their house and bought into strata living and didn’t like strata living so they came back and bought a house,” Mr Walter said.
South of the CBD, in Hurstville, a six-bedroom house sold under the hammer for $2.7 million – well above the $2.4 million guide.
The home at 14 Neirbo Avenue had been in the same family for 28 years. It had been renovated over that time, with a second storey built six years ago.
McGrath St George’s Aaron Bird said there were nine registered bidders — all young families — with one of them winning the keys.
“A character home like this in St George doesn’t come up very often,” Mr Bird said.
On the lower north shore, a four-bedroom home at 4 Coolaroo Road, Lane Cove North, sold under the hammer for $2.69 million, well above the $2.5 million reserve.
Belle Property Lane Cove principal Simon Harrison said an enormous 26 bidders registered for the auction.
“This sale demonstrates just how strong the market is right now,” Mr Harrison said. “It’s certainly not the norm to have 26 registered bidders at an auction. Incredibly low interest rates and the desire for more space is really motivating buyers to upgrade.”
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