Property investment in Sydney falls as clearance rates decrease
So we learn that this weekend property investment in Sydney falls as clearance rates decrease at Saturday’s house auctions. I think most people understand that there are certainly a lot fewer homes put up for sale through auction or private treaty over the winter months than there is over other times of the year. Fewer homes for sale obviously equates to fewer buyers but does it really follow on Sunday’s headline, “Winter freeze brings weaker clearance rate for Sydney auction market”?
Investment property sales at auction drop over a cold weekend
It just strikes me as unbelievable that properties placed on the market at least 4 weeks ago should not sell because of a typical winter cold snap! I can’t imagine getting excited about spending close to $1million or maybe more on a new dream home or a very appealing investment property, no doubt taking the trouble to go out and inspect on at least one occasion, maybe even getting building and pest reports but deciding on Saturday morning that perhaps it’s just a bit too cold to attend the auction!
We also seem to have a great need in the Real Estate industry to find excuses for things going wrong or not working out as predicted. I am not suggesting that the temperature can make a difference to clearance rates but surly we would know this before taking on a mid-winter listing? Anyway, regardless of reason, auction clearance rates fell quite dramatically both in Melbourne and Sydney over the weekend which means also that property investment in Sydney falls as clearance rates decrease. It may be as much to do with a generally softening Sydney market due to a general election coming up or a possible change to negative gearing or even the most obvious that Sydney prices are just now unaffordable with the lowest rental yields on record.
Even so, there were some interesting results with a few homes still selling well above expectation. You may read more about this here: http://goo.gl/qw0P3f
