Daily Telegraph Real Estate auction blog: live updates from the property market
Many home sellers struggled as Sydney hosted its biggest day of auctions ever, with the market dropping to its weakest level since the start of the year.
Welcome to The Daily Telegraph’s auction coverage.
Sydney has been flooded with new property listings since social restrictions were lifted in October and the city had its biggest week of auction activity on record.
SEE LATEST RESULTS BELOW
Just over 1650 auctions were scheduled for the week, with more than 1100 properties going under the hammer on Saturday, CoreLogic reported.
It was a reversal of the period during lockdown when few vendors were taking their homes to market and strong buyer demand meant the scattering of properties that were listed sold quickly.
UNDER THE HAMMER - NOW
Auctioneers reported that the increased supply of available properties, coupled with growing hesitancy from buyers, helped moderate prices.
Ray White chief auctioneer Alex Pattaro said it was a totally different market from a few weeks ago when many auctions attracted more than 10 registered bidders.
“It’s a noticeable shift,” he said. “Sellers are getting decent results, buyers just aren’t paying that extra premium they were before.”
Inflated price expectations from sellers were one of the reasons more homes were beginning to pass in, Mr Pattaro added.
CoreLogic data showed the success rate of auctions, once as high as 90 per cent earlier this year, has been falling over recent weeks. Last week it was 68.7 per cent, the lowest weekly clearance rate recorded this year and the first time the rate has slipped under 70 per cent since 2020.
The long-term average for clearance rates is about 65 per cent. That’s also the mark of a balanced market between buyers and sellers. Clearance rates below 50 per cent signal a weak market.
Some of the biggest results from Saturday's auctions are below: