July was a balancing act for buyers and sellers in the Sydney property market. They were met with a curious combination – healthy clearance rates and a lack of urgency. While the auction action wasn’t far off where it was at this time last year, it took 2 weeks longer to sell a home. Patience was important for sellers jumping in before the craziness of spring.

Demand is still there for quality stock at the $1.8 million price point and above. At the same time, 25% of BresicWhitney sales stock never made it to the open market. Of a total of 67 transactions in July, 17 were ‘off-market’ sales. Frontline activity remains strong with an average of 2.1 registrations per auction.

This past weekend mirrored our year-to-date clearance rate of 86%, while the wider Sydney auction clearance rate now sits at 75% for the year.

Surry Hills, Darlinghurst and Paddington made up the bulk of July sales. Rozelle and Camperdown led the action for the Inner West while Hunters Hill and surrounds drew consistent interest, with homes selling across a total of 33 suburbs.

In the rental sphere, July was slow and an election Saturday stifled many weekend open homes. While a winter sales market remains strong, rentals will continue to vie for attention. However, by the end of August the market will kick into its spring phase, offering more choice for tenants, and a new wave of proactive home hunters.