What a difference a year can make. Last year spring selling season was manic and started in July. But that wasn’t normal. Now 2016 is throwing another new trend – the steady trickle. It’s left our Sydney property market stuck in balance, somewhere between the fever of last year and the traditional ups and downs of seasonality.

Last weekend heralded the first major weekend of spring selling. It delivered us around 816 Sydney auctions in 2015, and just 574 this year. Demand is still there with the sound of the hammer falling at more than 3/4 of auctions. But will the volume swell or not?

August ticked along in Sydney with an auction clearance rate of 81% We’re still seeing an average of 2.5 bidders and an appetite for quality or iconic offerings. In Darlington, a warehouse at 7 Ivy Lane sold for $3,325,000 after attracting 5 registered bidders.

The BresicWhitney clearance rate is a healthy 86% as is the wider Sydney figure of 78%. With the average number of registered bidders hovering around 3, the demand has been there for the majority of auction campaigns.

The smattering activity and the spread of suburbs with singular sales is a reflection of the market’s current trickle effect. We saw sales from Brighton Le Sands to Tempe, and from Woollahra across to Mosman.

Much like the sales market, the rental realm seems calm yet poised for spring. Inquiry is up, but it’s not translating to attendance/new leases like a true hot market. Tenants are applying for multiple places, but the increased inquiry levels could be about to flip this. With buyers savvy about value, reasonably-priced Inner West pockets are showing more signs of surging compared with the East and other districts.