Selling prior peaks in March

AS the market becomes more balanced, Sydney sellers are opting to sell prior in droves but it may not be the best decision.

In Sydney, one of the country’s largest auction markets, the Ray White Group scheduled 529 auctions this month to date. Meanwhile, Ray White offices in Melbourne scheduled 474 auctions.

Despite the Melbourne network booking fewer auctions, they took 334 auction listings all the way to game day and only 26 per cent sold prior. The equivalent number in Sydney was 195.

Almost 68 per cent of all the March auctions did not proceed in Sydney, nearly 30 per cent sold prior to auction and 21 per cent converted to private treaty. It amounts to 355 listings not being fully tested by the market and perhaps not achieving the best price possible. To compare, Ray White's national ‘sold prior’ rate stands at 20 per cent in the month of March so far and the group has cleared 72 per cent of all auction stock under the hammer.

As we know, while bidder numbers haven’t reached the dizzying heights of 2021, this year’s more balanced market still offers a lot of competition from eager buyers if the price is right.

Ray White New South Wales chief auctioneer Alex Pattaro said the Sydney market remains competitive but particularly across top tier properties.

“While buyers remain cautious and fear over paying, many registered buyers are looking to transact and secure a home before Easter,” Mr Pattaro said.

“This should give sellers confidence that the buyers within the market are ready to transact now and typically pay the best prices within the market.”

And while bidder numbers have calmed, a number that hasn’t dropped is the gap between the highest offer prior versus sale price at auction. On average in Sydney this month, sellers who opted to go to auction sold their properties for 11 per cent more than if they had sold prior. This figure has held around this level for the last three years.

A four unit block at 79 Queen Victoria St, Bexley sold almost 12 per cent more than the reserve at $2.34 million on Saturday through Ray White Hurstville selling agents Christopher Munk and Michael Curtis. The units were bought by a retail investor from Canberra.

In the last full week of March, the Ray White Group has 825 auctions scheduled, 483 of those booked in for Saturday. In Melbourne there are 231 Ray White auctions scheduled and another 212 booked for Ray White Sydney this week. Ray White Brisbane has scheduled 90 auctions and Adelaide’s Ray White offices have scheduled 66 auctions.