Low Sydney stock suggests early bird vendors have already got their spring buyers

There is seemingly no rush to auction this spring in Sydney.

Yes school holidays slow things down, but until a few months ago, the auction schedule was chockers.

Typically 30% to 50% above the levels of the same time in 2013.

But this has changed considerably.

This week APM report Sydney has 723 listings, which is 3.1% up year on year.

Melbourne has 855, which is 1.1% up year on year, according to APM with RP Data, which includes Geelong and the Mornington Pensinsula putting the number at 992 auctions scheduled in Melbourne this week, down compared 1008 this weekend last year. 

Perhaps inversely the easing in high levels has something to do with the strong auction market, that is, buyers snapping up property, often before they are formally listed for sale.

Auction listings have flattened over recent weekends, with the regular gap between this year and past years almost disappearing.

Weekends over the winter months in Sydney were especially up on last year by 24%; 52%; 31%; 35%; 54%; 37%; 37%; 32% and 61% on the June long weekend. 

Listings on the Lower North Shore are down 10%, according to Raine & Horne, making it a sensible time to sell ‘hard to shift’ properties.

Such properties that took three months to sell last year are being snapped up in the current market, the agency has noted.

SQM's Louis Christopher has detected the same overall easing trend in his data which includes private treaty volume.

"Sydney is leading the charge, with substantial decreases both on a monthly and yearly basis," said Christopher.

"We can see that contrary to the seasonal trend which commonly sees an influx of listings hit the market at the beginning of spring, all capital cities recorded monthly decreases in stock, excepting Darwin which recorded a slight increase at 0.2%," he noted.

Source: SQM Research

It is not to rule out that there won't be a late spring surge in volumes - especially for those who have held off until the garden is in full bloom.

And yes next weekend there is a small uptick. Sydney numbers look like dipping to just below 700, but that will be 13% up on the same time last year with Melbourne numbers up above 980, which is up 8% year on year.

However no super-dooper Saturdays on the horizon yet for Sydney. After this week there are only 10 weekends left this year for auctions, up to the Saturday December 19 last opportunity.

Melbourne has had seven 1,000 plus auction Saturdays so far this year, according to APM. And some 1800 auctions scheduled at the end of October 25, exceeding the previous record of 1600 set on the corresponding weekend last year.

Spring however will no doubt bring the constant Fair Trading crackdown stories with the tabloid and television headlines lapping up state government supposedly stepping up its vigilance against dodgy real estate agents.

There's already been chatter of NSW Fair Trading officers posing as young couples in order to expose underquoting.