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One of the first markets to register price drops as interest rates began to rise, Sydney could now be signalling an end to the market correction, according to one market expert.
Independent auctioneer Clarence White believes that buyer sentiment and market metrics coming out of Australia’s most populous city “all point to a recovery underway in 2023”.
As Mr White explained, while CoreLogic recently reported the first month-on-month increase in median house prices across Australian capital cities, that in itself does not mean that an upward trajectory is underway.
However, the Menck White Auctioneers founder said that the capital city results, coupled with the first 10 weeks of 2023 clearance rates in Sydney as well as data collected by the firm on the average registrations per auction, lend him the confidence to “safely say that the Sydney property market has passed the bottom”.
Mr White expanded: “According to CoreLogic, the Sydney auction market has posted weekly clearance rates above 70 per cent on eight out of the last 10 auction weeks in 2023. Menck White Auctioneers’ internal data shows that we are typically averaging between four and five registrations per auction that runs and that has been consistent across the first quarter of 2023.
“We are seeing improved registration numbers at auctions across Sydney and improved activity and confidence from buyers on the auction floor. This improved activity has been replicated across a number of geographic areas as well as across most key price points,” he noted.
The auctioneer reported that his firm held 70 auction bookings for the week ending 2 April, which was the first week of 2023 to breach the 1,000 auctions across Sydney volume mark, and 54 of those 70 properties were sold either on auction day or prior to auction.
Given these results, Mr White predicts big things for price growth in the metro area, bucking what many might expect from the mega market following the dampened prices that have been recorded over the last 10 months.
“While historically, markets often experience a flat period following a downward correction, I personally believe we will see a bounce, not a plateau this time,” he said.
“There is significant dormant demand for housing in Sydney and as confidence in the market grows and is increasingly reported in the media, I believe we will see a return to price growth almost immediately”.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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