October listings continued to surge forward across the Sydney market, with significant auction volumes occurring weekly which saw sellers largely jostling to find reliable buyer interest. It’s an unpredictable market with significant fluctuations for sellers – certain properties are flying off the shelf while others are seemingly stuck in the mud. We’re seeing the mixed results play out through the auction market, with Sydney’s final clearance rate pegged well below 50 per cent throughout the month and producing the weakest results since the beginning of 2022 when the cash rate started to rocket up. Such an outcome would indicate that there is downward pressure on property values and while this may be the case for some properties, it’s certainly not the case for all.
The dichotomy of the market is challenging for buyers who are typically spending more time reviewing and assessing the market to best understand why certain properties produce standout results while others are seeing multiple price adjustments throughout the campaign. For buyers, this is very important. It’s an acquired skill and takes quite a bit of time to really understand the nuances of the current market, so they can then best approach a negotiation. On the sellers’ side, these conditions are also bringing no shortage of challenges as they also see some signs of positivity mixed with a wave of uncertainty. The challenge for every seller is that they tend to lean into the positive space and shut off receptors to the growing list of failed auctions. It’s human nature – we all love our homes, we’ve shared many fond memories, we understand how everything works and all the little things like how the light hits in the morning and how close it is to our favourite park or café. Unfortunately, for most buyers, our personal moments, memories and fondness of our home doesn’t always equate to the same level of connection to the vast majority of the buyer pool.
