Homeseekers will be firmly in the driver’s seat over the coming months as this year’s spring brings more auctions, but with fewer rival bidders.
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Homeseekers will be firmly in the driver’s seat over the coming months as this year’s spring brings more auctions, but with fewer rival bidders.
Auctioneers have reported their diaries have been filling rapidly following a spike in scheduled auctions over September, but registrations from buyers remain below those recorded last year.
Figures from Cooley Auctions, one of Sydney’s biggest auction houses, revealed the typical city auction over the last month had just three bidders, down from nine bidders at the same time last year.
It’s made a sizeable difference to the success rate of auctions. Just over half the properties scheduled for auction over recent weeks actually sold, but the split of homes sold through pre-auction deals and those sold under the hammer at a live auction was about 50/50.
Vendors in this environment have often struggled to sell their properties without adjusting their reserve prices downward.
Scerri Auctions director and auctioneer Chris Scerri said the vendors who faced the biggest challenges were selling “second-tier” real estate.
He defined these properties as those on main roads or with other features most buyers considered undesirable.
“Top-tier” properties that ticked all the boxes continued to attract large numbers of bidders and often sold for well over reserve, Mr Scerri said.
This dynamic was not in play last year, Mr Scerri noted. “Buyers were prepared to go after anything, even if it didn’t tick all the boxes, because there was a fear of missing out,” he said.
PK Property director Peter Kelaher said the prevailing mindset among buyers was now a fear of overpaying. “They’re scared that what they pay now will be too much in a few months’ time,” he said.
Originally published as Live auctions: key stat shows why buyers have upper hand at Sydney auctions
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