Sydney auction clearance rate and bidders plunge

Sydney’s auction market is the weakest its been in close to eight years and vendors are adjusting price expectations.

But some experts say it could be an opportunistic time for buyers.

Citywide clearance rates were this month down to 41.3 per cent as more homes are passed in without attracting a single bid spotlighting the weakest levels in nearly eight years – and a sharp decline from last year, when more than 70 per cent of properties sold under the hammer most weeks.

Ray White data has revealed Sydney averaged 3.1 registered bidders and two active bidders per auction last month, down from 4.6 registered and 2.8 active bidders in May 2025.

“On Saturday, we sold 55 per cent of the properties under the hammer,” Ray White Head of Auctions NSW David McMahon said.

“That data has fluctuated between 55 to 60 per cent for most of this adjustment phase from March, very similar with our registered bidder numbers, 2.7 register bidders on Saturday.”

Mr McMahon said if you compare the current auction market to 2021 to 2025, it will appear weak, but at that time a lot of buyers were being priced out.

“It was historically one of the biggest booms this country has ever seen across all markets, regional metro and all states,” he said.

“So obviously that had its issues, too.”

He pointed to current price falls affording an “opportunistic market”, allowing buyers to purchase a property for a lower price that over the past couple of years.

Mr McMahon said for vendors who are entering the market, they are now aware of changing market conditions to make well-informed decisions around the value of their home.

“We now have three to four months of new recent sales data to give them a solid indication of where their property would sit,” he said.

This comes as analysis of exclusive PropTrack figures revealed median home values in many Sydney suburbs are now more than 10 per cent below their 2025 levels, with most falls concentrated about 15km from the CBD.

This equated to falls of $150,000 off the median value of homes in some areas, with the bulk of this decline occurring in the three months after this year’s first interest rate hike in February.

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Mr McMahon said there could still potentially be slight improvements to the market, if there are changes to the Middle Eastern conflict or an interest-rate cut.

However, he expects auction clearance rates to continue to hover between 55 and 60 per cent, with the average number of bidders between 2.5 and three over the next few months.

“I’ll be really interested to see how the market responds to that, I don’t think it’ll go back to how it was in 2025,” he said.

“Perhaps the clearance rate might go to 60 to 65 per cent and bidder numbers might go from three to 3.5.

“It is hard to predict, but I would imagine what we’re experiencing now will be fairly consistent and based on what happens in the economy, that’ll be the main markers that will drive the market more positively.”

Some homes continued to buck the downturn on the weekend, including one Vaucluse mansion that sold for $23.22m under the hammer on Saturday, the highest auction sale of the year.

A four-bedroom in Castle Hill with 10 registered bidders, five active sold under the hammer for $2.35m, clearing its $2.125m reserve.

Auctioneer Stu Benson of Benson Auctions said he was still seeing results like this every week in the market.

“Sure, not as often as we see in a hotter market, but so long as the vendors price expectation is in alignment with the buyer feedback, we’re seeing properties sell, and competition is still happening,” he said.

“The softening of prices seems to have levelled out here in the North West – those who listed earlier in the year had some serious concessions to make when it came to their price expectation, because buyers were spooked by overseas drama, domestic politics, and three consecutive RBA increases.

“Listings that have launched recently have taken this correction into account, and most vendors are hitting the market with very realistic, market-sensitive price expectations.”

MORE: Mansion sells for highest auction price of the year

Another home at 189 Majors Bay Road, Concord sold $50,000 over its $2.3m reserve.

Agent Dib Chidiac of DC & Co said buyers are not lacking interest, but they do need guidance, information and confidence to take the next step.

“With six registered bidders and three active participants, this was a great example of how a well executed auction campaign can still deliver outstanding results,” he said.

“Buyers are still prepared to compete strongly for quality property, but they need clarity and confidence, while vendors need realistic expectations,” Auctioneer Edward Riley of Edward Riley Auctions said.

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