With Sydney property spectators distracted by assumptions that cooler months bring slower markets, some sectors were on the boil throughout May.

We saw 100% clearance across our auctions for homes priced between $1 million and $2 million. That’s a result we hadn’t had yet in 2017.

The number of registered bidders also jumped as demand returned to what is the core portion of the inner-city housing market.

It’s been the hardest sector to pick this year for both buyers and market professionals. It could be that the gap between seller expectations and what buyers are prepared to pay has finally been realigned.

Above $2 million and up to $3 million, that buyer demand dissipated. And from $3 million to $4 million, the 100% clearance rates returned. While all of this was happening, the wider metro area reported auction clearance rates below 75% last weekend – a first for Sydney in a number of years.

BresicWhitney finished May with a clearance rate of 81% – selling 17 of 21 auctions on the last weekend of the month. Sydney’s wider auction clearance rate was 76% while the year-to-date clearance rate for BresicWhitney is 86%.

From Paddington to Balmain, we saw a surge in numbers across the group at our open homes. More than 810 people visited our open homes last weekend, up from 672 the week before. It translated to an average of around 9 groups per property opened that week.

Although winter came early for the rental market and activity/numbers were down, BresicWhitney signed a record number of leases for the month. An outside-the-box move towards private inspections made the difference. Homehunters were demanding it. And owners were enjoying the payoff.

Property managers were also encouraging investors to be exact when it comes to pricing. Luxury and niche properties were the first to be affected with lower numbers turning out in the middle of the year.