Sydney's weekend clearance rate dips below 80% - year low result
Sydney recorded a 79.7% weekend auction clearance rate - a year low.
The weekend result came after the unsettling suggestion Sydney's median house price had hit $1 million.
Domain Group's Australian Property Monitors had tabulated 590 of the 715 expected results, with late results expected to see the final figure even lower.
Last weekend's revised result was 78.3%.
Barring holiday weekends, the clearance rate for Sydney has sat above 80% since the February 7 weekend, when the auction season got underway.
Below 80% results were recorded on the January 31, 2015 and December 20, 2014 weekends.
The same weekend last year had a 73% success rate across Sydney.
A clearance rate of 79 per cent was recorded this weekend in Melbourne compared to 75 per cent last weekend and 70 per cent this weekend last year, with 671 auctions reported to the REIV today.
The highest sale of the day was in Sydney where a three level Manly harbourfront duplex (above) sold at $4.55 million to expats through Cherie Humel-Clarke of Clarke & Humel who had just the three registered bidders for 10 Bruce Avenue.
Sydney's cheapest was $338,000 at Regents Park - which had sold pre-renovation at $217,000 in 2012.
Melbourne's dearest reported result was 8 Ferdinand Avenue, Balwyn North which sold for $3,600,000, a near new home in the prized Balwyn High School zone.
APM's weekend cheapest
| Sydney | 11/8 Edwin St, Regents Park NSW 2143, 1 br Unit, Town & Country | $338,000 | |
| Melbourne | 2/17 Abercarn Av, Craigieburn VIC 3064, 3 br Unit, Ray White | $280,000 | |
| Adelaide | 23 Lorna Rd, Para Hills SA 5096, 3 br House, Professionals | $310,000 | |
| Brisbane | 19 James St, Lowood QLD 4311, 4 br House, LJH | $172,500 | |
| Canberra | 5/30 Watson St, Turner ACT 2612, 2 br Unit, McGrath | $525,000 | |
Interestingly Saturday's $1.15 million Sydney auction median was the lowest since June 6, which could most probably reflect that listings across the more traditional pricier suburbs are on hold until the spring sales season.
"The market is creaking under record winter listings," said Domain's senior economist, Dr Andrew Wilson, a more sober assessment than the mid-week exuberance when Fairfax Media gushingly reported the median house price "smash through the magic $1 million mark for the first time."
