Sellers in Sydney have stopped waiting for auction day, with a significant number of homes going to auction before the hammer has a chance to fall.
Last weekend, more houses in Sydney were sold before the auction than under the hammer.
Real estate agents say this trend has been fairly consistent for months, despite spring traditionally being the busiest season for auctions.
Are there cold feet among sellers, or are buyers willing to make big offers to secure a home?
Buyers in Sydney are willing to go the extra mile with their bidding to avoid auction competition.
Roger Wardy of Ray White Touma Taylor said he had mainly seen the latter in recent months, especially with buyers who had previously missed out.
“Most of the market is looking at properties at a certain price, and then you usually get one or two buyers who have missed out on quite a few properties,” he said.
“They’re just fed up and just want to buy something and then it starts to get emotional.
“So the gap between the bulk of the market and where the hot buyers are is often quite a gap for the owner to decline, so that’s why they decide to sell early.”
Mr Wardy said despite their frustration, buyers made no mistake by being optimistic about their bids.
“They get into the mode of just watching, I’ll pay extra for it now,” he said, “but then they thank themselves later because the market goes up.”
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This house on Kyogle St, Eastlakes sold before auction to break a suburban record.
The house attracted bids of $3.43 million.
In the past month, Mr Wardy said he had sold nine properties before the auction.
The $3.43 million sale of 3 Kyogle St, Eastlakes, sold for a new suburb record ahead of the auction.
Mr Wardy said the five-bedroom house broke the previous record of $3.2 million.
Nearby 17 Virginia St in Kensington also sold for around $5 million before the October 25 auction.
Mr Wardy said the sale saw a couple who had been looking for a home for more than a year and a half finally secure a new home with more space for their children.
Elsewhere in Kensington, the earlier sale of 63 Samuel Terry Ave set a new street record of $4.5 million.
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17 Virginia Street, Kensington sold prior to auction for a mid-$5 million price, well above the suburb’s median.
This nearby house on Samuel Terry Ave, Kensington also sold for $4.5 million before the auction.
In the north, Emma Blake from Ray White Northern Beaches said buyers securing properties before auction usually had one thing in common.
“They’re generally people who are seasoned buyers,” she said.
“It’s mostly families or people downsizing on the North Coast, so they’re relatively well-educated buyers.
“Once they find what they want, they like to buy it before the auction.”
121 Waterview St, Mona Vale was purchased for $2.85 million ahead of the auction, after buyers missed out by nine months.
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A young couple bought this house in Waterview St, Mona Vale before the auction after a year and a half of searching.
They had previously missed out on this house in Beaumont Cr, Bayview, which also sold before the auction.
Mrs Blake said the young couple were “heartbroken” after missing out on a number of properties, including 17 Beaumont Cres.
It’s clear they’ve learned from their mistakes, as the four-bedroom Bayview home also sold for $2.765 million ahead of the auction.
Ms Blake said the fact that buyers were willing to pay above market price meant they had confidence in the areas they were buying into.
In the northern beaches, she said “many buyers” were “becoming much more confident in the market”.
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