The Sydney home auction market eased slightly over December as seller activity increased although solid competition amongst buyers remained a driving force for market activity.
Sydney recorded an auction clearance rate of 69.9 per cent which was lower than the 73.1 per cent reported over the previous month and the lowest monthly result since June. Auction clearance rates faded over late spring and into summer having peaked at 76.0 per cent over October.
Although Sydney auction clearances rates declined over December compared to the previous months results, they remained well ahead of the low 53.1 per cent recorded over December 2015 when the market had fallen sharply under the weight of higher mortgage rates at that time.
Although clearance rates declined over December, auction volumes revived over the month following a sharp decline in listings over 2016 compared to the previous year. 2725 auctions were conducted over the month which, although well down on Novembers 3795 was well ahead of the 2209 listed over December 2015 the year before
Sydney’s median auction price for houses fell slightly over December – down from $1,466,000 to $1,420,000. The December median home auction price however increased by 9.2 per cent compared to December 2015.
The Sydney median unit price also fell over December down slightly from $891,000 to $890,000, but similar to houses increased by 11.5 per cent over the year.
The best performing Sydney auction suburbs over 2016 were for houses Cabarita, Dawes Point, Kurnell, Lewisham, Millers Point and Ultimo with a 100 per cent clearance rate and for units Milsons Point with a 95.5 per cent result from 23 auctions.
Dr Andrew Wilson is Domain Group Chief Economist Twitter@DocAndrewWilson join on LinkedIn