In this sense of urgency, well-located properties are changing hands at high prices. For example, on Sydney's Northern Beaches, a six-bedroom home at 12 Edgecliffe Esplanade, Seaforth, sold for just under A$12 million, around A$1 million above its guide price. The sale, which was handled by BresicWhitney's Anna Chen, became the highest priced sale of the year in the urban area.
It's not just luxury properties that are in demand, however, as even some run-down flats are attracting interest from buyers. In Bondi, in Sydney's east end, a top-floor, four-bedroom flat at 5/17 Wilga St sold for A$7.1 million, a staggering A$3.1 million above the reserve price.
The flat, which was listed for sale for the first time in over 30 years, retained its original interiors and damaged carpets and walls, but the buyer was delighted with its panoramic views over Bondi Beach and Ben Buckler.
Despite cases of high-priced sales, the preliminary clearance rate across Australia fell by about three percentage points to 65.9 per cent, the lowest level since mid-March, according to CoreLogic. This is a clear sign that sales conditions are shifting in favour of buyers.
CoreLogic's Tim Lawless said that despite the total number of properties listed being higher than the five-year average, preliminary clearance rates in Sydney and Melbourne were below average.
Sydney's preliminary clearance rate fell 30 basis points from the previous week to 68.7 per cent, while Melbourne dropped from 68 per cent to 64.1 per cent. However, smaller capital cities such as Adelaide and Perth recorded higher preliminary clearance rates, both at 76.9 per cent.
In addition, the data shows a slight increase in Brisbane's clearance rate from 58 per cent to 61.7 per cent. This suggests that smaller capital cities are still experiencing strong competitive activity.
In terms of future trends in the property market, Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee believes that some markets are starting to become more favourable to buyers.
Particularly in an environment of rising interest rates, many investors are struggling to make their monthly loan payments, and as a result, some investors are beginning to sell their properties. This could be an opportunity for first-time buyers, but could be detrimental to renters as there will be fewer homes available to rent.
However, buyer's agent David Morrell takes a different view. He believes that homebuyers are still actively searching for homes due to fears of a lack of supply next year, especially with the start of the Christmas holidays only three weekends away.
He says homebuyers are concerned that if they can't find a property in the next two to three weeks, they may have to wait until the middle of next year to have more choice.
