Sydney Smashes Record with Sky-High Auction Rates

Sydney has shrugged off 2020 with a record-breaking number of auctions for Super Saturday ahead of Easter.

The city’s real estate agents tallied up 1227 auctions at the weekend, smashing the record-high of 1154 from the same weekend in 2017, reinforcing the city’s place at the top of the market after its first Super Saturday in three years.

It was billed as a litmus test for Sydney’s red-hot auction market, but the city’s buoyancy has continued to boost market confidence and demand for property across the city.

Archistar chief economist Andrew Wilson said “the supercharged housing markets” had delivered record-level buyer and seller activity reflecting the current seemingly insatiable demand for property.

“The Sydney housing market continues to soar to unprecedented heights with a record-breaking performance on the pre-Easter Super Saturday of auctions,” Wilson said.

“Sydney reported a near-record clearance rate despite hosting its highest number of Saturday auctions. Sydney recorded … [a] 90.4 per cent result, just below the previous weekend’s all-time high 92.4 per cent.”

Top super Saturday sales

City Address Price

Sydney 4 Sea St, Hunters Hill NSW 2110 $9,000,000

Melbourne 64 Central Park Rd, Malvern East VIC 3145 $4,715,000

Adelaide 19 Simpson Pde, Goodwood SA 5034 $2,200,000

Brisbane 20 Seventh Av, Windsor QLD 4030 $1,740,000body

Canberra 4 Finniss Cr, Narrabundah ACT 2604 $2,410,000

Source: Domain

At the top of the sales report was the $9.3m sale of William O’Dwyer’s Bellevue Hill home. The founder of collapsed apartment builder Ralan Group had listed the property with a price guide of $8.5 million.

Another Sydney house also topped $9m—a riverfront four-bedroom house at Hunters Hill.

Melbourne also recorded a boom-time clearance rate, according to Wilson, who said the Victorian capital recorded its highest number of Saturday auction sales and total value of homes reported sold under the hammer at the weekend.

Despite the record number of listings, the city recorded its highest clearance rate since January 30, at 83.7 per cent.

According to Corelogic's results the national weighted average clearance rate was 84.4 per cent, compared to 37.3 per cent for this time last year.