Weekend auction wrap: Where the hammer fell

School holidays, along with the grand final weekend, meant there were just the 47 auctions in Melbourne, where agents secured a 59% success rate. There was a 57% clearance rate from the 119 reported results in Sydney.

Melbourne’s dearest sale was $857,000 in Hughesdale. Melbourne’s clearance rate averaged just 54% in September, the lowest September since 2004. Stock levels are set to rise to 565 auctions next weekend and to 730 auctions in a fortnight, according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, with the real test towards the end of October when 850 properties go under the hammer.

Sydney’s dearest weekend sale was in Maroubra yesterday at $2.7 million through Ray White agents Phillip Elmowy and Nader Hotait. The house was built in 2003 on a hillside block that cost $670,000 in 1994.

Sydney's median house price for the three months to August fell by 1.8% to $643,315, compared with the previous quarter, according to the latest Australian Property Monitors data.

The median price for units also fell by 1.8% to $448,024.

Despite these falls, the median house price has decreased by just 0.6% over the year to August, with the median price for units remaining stable, according to Dr Andrew Wilson, the senior economist for Australian Property Monitors

Sydney's house price performance over the past year remains the best of all capitals, and equal to Canberra's, which was also down by 0.6%.

Only Darwin recorded a better performance in median unit price growth.

The main division in the various Sydney markets was between properties priced under $1 million and those above $1 million, according to estate agent John McGrath.

"Under $1 million is performing actually quite well and over a million is still the quieter part of the market," he told Fairfax Media. 

John McGrath offered a regional metropolitan snapshot for Sydney, including:

Western suburbs - Job fears hinder activity

Parramatta region - Good sales up to $600,000

Hills district - Performing well under $1 million

Upper north shore - Strong up to $1.25 million

Northern beaches - Buyers less confident, hesitant

Lower north shore - Investor market strong

Eastern suburbs - Good sales under $1 million

Inner west - Young professionals driving market

South - Strong in St George, less so in Sutherland shire