Sydney property boom rolls on despite pre-grand final auction rush

The Sydney home auction market continues to record boom-time results, reporting yet another strong clearance rate despite the usual pre-grand finals rush to market by sellers. 

Sydney recorded a rate of 81.5 per cent on Saturday, which followed last weekend’s stunning 15-month high result of 85.1 per cent. It was again significantly higher than the 69.6 per cent recorded over the same weekend last year.

Desperate buyers were offered some short-term relief at the weekend with a significant increase in the number of homes offered for sale, as sellers avoided a clash with the distraction of the football grand finals next weekend.

More than 700 auctions were conducted on Saturday, which was a big jump from last weekend’s 569, but well down on the 984 listed on the same pre-grand finals weekend last year. Around 250 homes will go under the hammer in Sydney next weekend.

Most of Sydney’s regions recorded clearance rates above 80 per cent, again reflecting the remarkable consistency of the market’s strength through most suburban areas.

Sydney’s lower north recorded the highest clearance rate of all the suburban regions at the weekend, with a super-strong 93.3 per cent. Of the 60 reported auctions, 56 sold.

The next highest was the central coast, which bounced back sharply following recent low results, with a 90 per cent rate. Following behind was the west with 84.6 per cent, the north west with 84 per cent, the city and east with 83.6 per cent, the inner west with 83.5 per cent, the northern beaches with 82.2 per cent, the upper north shore with 81.7 per cent and the highest number of sales at 76, the south with 78.4 per cent, the south west with 75 per cent and Canterbury Bankstown quieter again with a clearance rate of just 58.3 per cent.

Notable sales reported at the weekend included:

• a five-bedroom home at 26 Gold Street, Blakehurst sold for $4.1 million by Belle Property South Hurstville;
• a four-bedroom home at 9 Darling Street, Bronte sold by Belle Property Bondi for $4.1 million;
• a four-bedroom home at 13 Wunda Road, Mosman sold by McGrath Mosman for $3,895,000;
• a five-bedroom home at 18 Darook Park Road, Cronulla sold for $3.75 million by McGrath St George;
• a three-bedroom home at 17a Awaba Street, Mosman sold for $3.7 million by Ray White Lower North Shore.

The most expensive property reported sold at auction at the weekend was a four-bedroom home at 3 Bronte Marine Drive, Bronte, which sold for $7.35 million by PhillipsPantzer Donnelley. The most affordable property reported sold at the weekend was a three-bedroom home at 60 Waikanda Crescent, Whalan, which sold for $480,000 by Century 21 Sagin Realty.

For a list of Sydney weekend auction results click here.

Sydney recorded a median auction price of $1.3 million on Saturday, which was higher than the $1,221,000 recorded the previous weekend. Saturday’s median was also 17.4 per cent higher than the $1,107,500 recorded over the same weekend last year. A total of $525.8 million was reported sold at auction in Sydney at the weekend.

The pre-grand final super saturday of auctions signals the end of Sydney’s early spring selling season. The local market has certainly started strongly, with consistently high and rising clearance rates. This is in sharp contrast to the year before, when the market was fading fast under the burden of higher mortgage rates and producing significantly lower results.

Sydney sellers are likely to be increasingly attracted to the best spring selling conditions in years, with strong competition among buyers for available homes in all areas. Prices are certainly likely to continue to rise in the Sydney market, with low mortgage rates a catalyst for buyer confidence.

The Reserve Bank of Australia will gather for its regular monthly meeting next week to determine the direction of official interest rates over the next month. The RBA will likely continue to take a wait and see approach on rates following the recent cuts, and will be focusing on the critical September quarter inflation data to be released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on October 26.

The bank will also be wary about emerging signs of a resurgence in house prices growth in the hot Sydney and Melbourne spring markets. 

Dr Andrew Wilson is Domain Group Chief Economist Twitter@DocAndrewWilson join on LinkedIn

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