The pace of the property market has eased from the hectic activity of February and March, however auction prices haven’t changed all that much.
There were 311 properties listed for auction in Sydney over the weekend and 256 sold for a 78% clearance rate, said Australian Property Monitors (APM).
RP Data recorded a similar clearance rate but a much higher quantity of auctions held in the city over the whole of the last week, with 341 sales on 448 auctions.
While the total number of sales has declined in recent weeks, the median price has bounced back up to $930,000, according to APM.
So by one measure the market has cooled but by another, median price, it remains quite hot.
Where’s the difference?
The heat in Sydney auctions appears to come from a number of suburbs in particular which are at the premium end of the market and selling at above average prices.
For example, there were $2m sales in Crows Nest, Greenwich and Cammeray on Saturday, north shore suburbs that are typically pricey but usually with prices below this high mark, depending on the street.
Crows Nest is part of the North Sydney area, where the median price is $1.4m for houses, according to APM, while RP Data has the suburb’s median at $1.2m.
Many recent sales there have eclipsed this price point however, with two and three bedrooms on popular streets hitting $1.6 and $1.7m.
Sales in nearby Cammeray have followed a similar pattern, with three and four bedroom houses with a good amount of land selling for around $1.5m, but more recently drawing $1.9m or $2m.
Suburbs within 10 kilometres of the CBD, like Cammeray, are undoubtedly in demand across Sydney. Being close to the city is at the top of the checklist for many buyers in the current market, where even suburbs directly under the flight path such as Leichhardt and Lilyfield are selling homes above the city’s median price.
On the weekend, for example, two small houses in Leichhardt sold for more than $1m, one for $1.3m, despite the median being around $915,000, by APM’s data.
Value in Melbourne
In Melbourne, both the number of sales and median price is down. Over the weekend, there were 451 auctions and 334 of these sold for a clearance rate of 73%, said APM.
The overall median was $657,000, which is slightly lower than it has been in recent months and this seems to have been caused by sales in areas with lower price points such as Dandenong, Glenroy, Sunshine and Greensborough.
Take leafy Greensborough, for example, which has a variety of properties from classic weatherboard homes to modern townhouses and at a range of prices.
However, the suburb is about 17 kilometres from the CBD and the demand for these types of outer ring areas in Melbourne doesn’t look to be as strong as similar locations in Sydney.
For example, Castle Hill is about 23 kilometres from the Sydney CBD and yet houses there are selling for in excess of $1m. The range of house styles is similar to Greensborough, however some of Castle Hill’s especially large plots help to draw big prices.
More than just prices
A couple of other measures need to be considered when looking at property sales in Sydney and Melbourne generally. Firstly, time on market, which notes the average number of days a property takes to sell from the time of listing (private sales only).
In Sydney, this figure is just 29 days for houses, while in Melbourne it’s 38 days, said RP Data. The next best after these two is 58 days in Brisbane, so clearly there are plenty of buyers acting quickly in these major markets.
The second important measure is listings, which counts advertised properties over the past month and in RP Data’s report, compares this figure to a year ago.
In Sydney, total listings as of this week are down about 10% on the year, while in Melbourne they’re down about 9%. If fewer people are selling then obviously whatever stock is made available is prompting a competitive atmosphere among buyers.
Keep in mind, however, that those who sell usually also need to buy a property in the same market and this can impact the timing and number of listings.
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