Auction volumes fell by 2.9 per cent across the combined capitals over the week to 1832 as winter set in. Melbourne led the biggest decline of 11.1 per cent to 750, while Sydney was the busiest with 714 homes taken to auction.
During the same time last year, 2644 homes were taken to auction across the capital cities, 912 in Sydney and 1245 in Melbourne.
Broad recovery
Sydney-based real estate agent and chief executive of BresicWhitney, Thomas McGlynn ,said strong demand has spread across different types of properties, not just at the upper end.
“We saw auction registrations rise across all types of properties on the weekend, including apartments,” he said. “I think it is another positive sign of a broader recovery that there have been a lot more buyers wanting to buy apartments, which hasn’t been the case for quite some time now.
“We’re also seeing the number of people attending open for inspections jump to 50 groups through the first weekend of winter. That’s unusual.”
Independent Sydney-based auctioneer Clarence White also noticed growing competition for units, even those that were shunned during the pandemic.
“It’s been fascinating to see the unit market roaring back to life,” he said. “Even one-bedders are selling quite well nowadays, such as the one I sold on the northern beaches last week, where we have five registered bidders. I wouldn’t have seen that six months ago.
“During the pandemic, it was nearly impossible to sell smaller apartments. So I think the market is strengthening. It’s not as hot as when the market was booming, but it’s heading in that direction.”
Early results show 76.4 per cent of Sydney units taken to auction were sold, 70 per cent were successful in Melbourne, 85 per cent in Brisbane and 74.1 per cent across the combined capitals.
A fully-renovated Sydney terrace was sold for $4.2 million, which is $400,000 above the reserve, and broke the suburb’s highest sale price record.
Home buyers continued to flock to larger homes, however, such as the fully-renovated four-bedroom terrace on just 203 square metre lot at 32 Malcolm Street, Erskineville in Sydney’s inner west.
The house was sold under the hammer for $4.2 million, representing $400,000 above reserve and smashing the suburb’s existing record of $3.7 million.
The rear view of the Erskineville terrace.
Shaun Stoker from Ray White Surry Hills who marketed the property said the buyers were a young couple from the eastern suburbs.
“The market is super strong due to tight stock levels, particularly with properties where the work has already been done to a high quality like this,” Mr Stoker said.
The vendors bought the house unrenovated in March 2021 for $2.07 million. Not including renovation and other costs, the sale price represented a $2.13 million uplift, or 103 per cent.
A four-bedroom, three bathroom house at 38 Robinson St, East Lindfield, in Sydney’s lower north shore was sold for $2,295,000, which is $195,000 above the reserve.
“The Sydney property market is starting to snowball and is gaining strong momentum,” said Ray White NSW chief auctioneer Alex Pattaro.
Another family home at 332 Porter Street in Melbourne’s north east also attracted strong bidding according to the selling agent, Amir Sharifi of Ray White Manningham.
The home was sold under the hammer for $1,800,500, which is $120,500 above the reserve, after 10 bidders competed.
“There are not enough properties like this on the market around here at the moment, which in turn created a great result for our sellers today,” he said.
“We had over 70 groups through the house, and it was a very busy and active campaign.”