The Sydney property downturn starts with asking price mismatch
The five year surge in Sydney prices is now coming off, as the Reserve Bank wished.
The biggest gap I've seen between asking price and selling price was over 20 percent. They wanted $27 million and took $21 million in Sydney's pricey east.
Long after the ambitious public asking prices, the more sombre secret sales outcome becomes known.
Any neighbours up the street thinking of selling are then forced to come back in expectation. The new pricing mood becomes contagious.
There is nothing too distressing around pricing really for most sellers, although the emerging slowdown captures almost all, even thoughtful asking prices.
South Sydney Rabbitohs star George Burgess recently made a mild adjustment to the price hopes of his Chifley offering (above and below).
Having initially sought $1.8 million, there's now guidance between $1,725,000 to $1,775,000, with Burgess and wife Joanne expecting a second child in August.
But first home buyers should pay extra careful attention to market conditions, not just the incentives on offer.
While the price declines may be minor, first home buyers ought be wary of over paying and potentially going straight into negative equity.
The weekend auction success rates that kicked off unexpectedly well with 70 percent selling, have weakened in the pre-Easter auction period with the clearance rate back in the 50s.
The market does seems set to continue to deteriorate further.
Most analysts tip the decline will be moderate, somewhere in the order of five to 10 percent over the next two or so years.
They don't see any trigger such as high unemployment that would escalate into more substantial price falls across all markets.
Certainly unexpected quick rate rises - rather than possibly a few extended over years - could be devastating for many households.
There are extreme calls such as the US forecaster Harry Dent who forecasts a halving in values.
But demand for property arising from population growth, arising both internally and from migration, is expected to provide a floor.
This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph.