A brief look at how property tenure has changed over the last 25 years.
Stamp duty cuts yet to show their full impact on Sydney auction clearance rates
First-home buyers were greeted with changes to stamp duty rates on Saturday, but the cuts did nothing to shift Sydney’s overall auction clearance rate.
Under NSW laws which came into effect on the weekend, first-home buyers are exempt from paying stamp duty for purchases of both new and established homes with a sale price of up to $650,000.
Sydney recorded a clearance rate of 69.7 per cent on Saturday, which was almost identical to the previous weekend’s 69.5 per cent result but remained lower than the 73.5 per cent recorded over the same weekend last year.
The most expensive house sold at auction on the weekend was 19 Carlisle Street Tamarama which went for $4,000,000.
This weekend was another near-record offering of homes for auction with 628 listings – the second highest July Saturday behind the 700 listed on July 25, 2015. Numbers were, however, predictably well down on last weekend’s 747 auctions but well ahead of the 200 auctioned over the same weekend last year that was impacted by federal election day.
July typically records lower auction numbers, with the mid-winter market particularly affected by school holidays. Auction numbers will be lower again next weekend, with just over 500 homes set to go under the hammer.
Sydney recorded a median auction price of $1,130,000 on Saturday, which was well below the $1,335,000 reported the previous weekend and 2.7 per cent higher than the $1,100,000 recorded over the same weekend last year. A total of $328.5 million was reported sold at auction in Sydney at the weekend.
62/1 Macquarie Street Sydney sold for $3,650,000 on Saturday.
The city’s auction market tracked backwards over June, impacted by the usual mid-winter decline in activity from increasingly distracted buyers and sellers.
Over June Sydney recorded an overall home auction clearance rate of 66.4 per cent, which was down on the 69.6 per cent reported over the previous month and lower than the 69.2 per cent recorded over June last year.
Although clearance rates were lower over the month, auction volumes have surged this year in Sydney, with 16,378 listings over the first 6 months of the year compared to just 12,708 over the same period last year – an increase of 28.9 per cent
79 Carrington Parade Curl Curl sold for $3,700,000 on Saturday.
- Related: Sydney auction results Saturday July 1
- Related: Annandale family sell home for nearly $3m at auction
Sydney recorded a median auction price of $1,330,000 over June, which was 1.1 per cent higher than the $1,315,000 recorded over May and 8.6 per cent higher than the $1,225,000 recorded over June 2016.
This week the Reserve Bank will convene for its regular monthly meeting to determine the direction of official interest rates over June.
Although monthly unemployment measures can be volatile, the latest data from the ABS revealed a sharp decline in the national seasonally adjusted rate over May from 5.7 per cent to 5.5 per cent – the lowest result since February 2013.
With the recent sharp decline in the jobless rate, the Reserve Bank is now more likely to keep rates on hold over the foreseeable future – although the recently underperforming economy is not out of the woods yet.
Despite the winter slow-down, a number of regions recorded strong results at the weekend, although the outer western suburbs continue to be market underperformers.
The top regional result was the upper north shore with 87.0 per cent, followed by the inner west 81.3 per cent, the south 80.4 per cent, the lower north 71.4 per cent, the northern beaches 69.2 per cent, Canterbury Bankstown 68.0 per cent, the city and east 65.6 per cent. Significantly behind was the central coast at 53.3 per cent, the south west 51.5 per cent and the north west and the west each with a 50.0 per cent clearance rate.
Notable sales reported at the weekend included:
- A four-bedroom home at 17 Manson Road, Strathfield sold by Devine Real Estate for $3,950,000,
- Another four-bedroom home at 79 Carrington Parade, Curl Curl sold by Clarke and Humel Property for $3,700,000,
- a two- bedroom unit at 62/1 Macquarie Street, Sydney sold for $3,650,000 by Morton Circular Quay,
- a three-bedroom home at 28 Ashton Street, Queens Park sold by Robert Allan Property for $3,208,000
- and a five-bedroom home at 21 Badminton Road, Croydon sold by Raine and Horne Burwood for $3,150,000.
The most expensive house reported sold at auction was a three-bedroom home at 19 Carlisle Street, Tamarama which sold for $4,000,000 by McGrath Eastern Suburbs. The most affordable property reported sold at the weekend was a three-bedroom home at 34 Kerry Crescent, Berkeley Vale sold for $530,000 by McGrath Long Jetty.