‘Buyer’s Market, Big Time’: Spring Sellers Face a Reality Check
The national auction market’s tentative recovery has stalled. Preliminary clearance rates for the combined capitals slipped to 53.2% — down from 56.5%, the strongest reading in three months — as 1,406 homes went under the hammer nationally, up 10.2% on the week but 31.9% below the same time last year.
The Numbers
- Combined capitals preliminary clearance rate: 53.2%, down from 56.5% — a three-month high
- Sydney was the standout: 56.6% on 482 auctions, up 1 point on the week
- Melbourne hosted the most auctions, 600, with a clearance rate of 55.4% — the lowest in four weeks
- Brisbane 40.4%, Adelaide 54.8%, Canberra 41.4%
Strong Sales Still Defy the Trend
Despite the softer headline numbers, standout results kept coming. A rundown Paddington terrace drew a crowd of roughly 100 people to Elizabeth Street and sold for $4.6 million against a $4 million guide, after 250,000 online views, 185 inspections and eight registered bidders. In Melbourne, a South Yarra home fetched $5.91 million against a $5.5 million-plus asking, and an Albert Park house made $6.65 million — well above its $5.85 million guide.
Sellers Going Quiet
With vendors unsure of achieving their price publicly, more stock is moving off-market. Buyer’s agent Emma Bloom says properties are increasingly listed as expressions of interest or private sales, with competition playing out between buyers in boardrooms rather than on the street. “Vendors don’t have the confidence that they’ll get the price they want, so they don’t want to expose themselves on the market,” she said.
The Spring Warning
SQM Research director Louis Christopher is blunt about what rising listings mean as spring approaches: “This spring selling season is going to be a buyer’s market, big time. If sellers do not come to the market properly in terms of meeting the market pricing expectations, they’re not going to sell” — and, he warns, they then face carrying an unsold property into Christmas, the worst time to try to sell.
What It Means for Buyers
For buyers, the balance of power keeps tilting their way. Clearance rates in the low-to-mid 50s mean more passed-in auctions, more negotiating room on price, and more stock to choose from as listings rise into spring. Well-priced homes in tightly-held precincts are still drawing crowds and selling above reserve — but the tail of poorly-priced stock is lengthening, and vendors holding out for 2025 prices are the ones going unsold.
