The two most competitive areas on Saturday were St George and the Eastern Suburbs as families became big spenders.

Expanding medical facilities, beaches and a laid-back lifestyle were the reasons for St George's popularity and a competitive market as buyers were attracted beyond inner-city Sydney, but they were up against local families.

A five-bedroom home in Bardwell Valley sold for $550,000 above the reserve price, with five of the 10 registered bidders battling it out.

The home at 4 Alsace Avenue was sold to a local family for $2.15 million.

Nicholas Economos, a broker with Ray White, said the auction was very quick from the start, opening at $1.4 million.

The buyers were enthusiastic and didn't mess around. They were a local family, and he actually grew up across the road from the house and played in a nearby park as a child.

Meanwhile, in Kogarah Bay, another local family sold a four-bedroom home at 16 Hamer St for $335,000 over the reserve price.

Auctioneer Andrew Cooley from Avenue Auctioneers sold the home for $2.395 million.

He said: 'This is a great example of a buyer being very keen to sell a home for more than it is worth. It's a popular location and there's room for appreciation.

At an exciting auction at 18 Lachal Ave, Kogarah, an elderly woman sold the three-bedroom property she had owned with her late husband for more than 46 years.

The home went under the hammer for $1.707 million, $257,000 above the reserve.

Auctioneer Chris Scerri of Scerri Auctioneers said it was a very competitive sale, with nine of the 11 bidders bidding aggressively.

The bidding was fierce, with a starting price of $1.4 million," he said. The buyer, a mother, bid on behalf of her son and family, and it sold for $1,000.

Belle Property brokers Patrick Wedes and Myanna Wedes led the bidding and said emotions ran high.

"It was a great result. Our beautiful and elderly homeowner was delighted and emotional considering she only said goodbye to her husband at the end of last year," said Mr Wedes.

She was amazed to think that her property had sold for such a high price.

Mr Wedes said the auction had attracted a large number of locals to the property, which is on the sought-after Moorefield Estate, which was a racecourse in the 1950s.

He said the St George's area was attracting medical professionals as public and private hospitals continued to expand, along with a laid-back lifestyle, beaches and cafes.

More and more people are moving from the inner west because they are looking for more space, he said.

Maroubra, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, has also seen some incredible successes, including the development of a new centre at 82 Mons Ave.

The organisation's Bethwyn Richards said there were seven registered bidders, four of whom were active, and bids were placed in A$1,000 increments before the hammer fell at A$5.017 million.

The auction went from strength to strength, with registered bidders coming forward to bid. The starting price was a guide price of $4 million, she said.

A family from the eastern suburbs participated in the auction, with a lower bid coming from a family from the greater Sydney area.

Families and developers were bidding because of the unique configuration of the site and its potential to be split into two parcels if knocked down.

Less than two kilometres away, another Maroubra home at 11 Chapman Avenue also sold for less than A$500,000 above the guide price.

Auctioneer Damien Cooley of Cooley Auctions conducted the sale, which had seven registered bidders, three of whom bid aggressively.

The auction went under the hammer at $2,932,000, a result NGFarah realtor Joe Recep called "unbelievable."

"The seller has been in business here for 30 years," he said. One of the last single-storey homes on the street, just 160 metres from the beach, the potential is endless.

The house sold to a young couple who saw the value in the property, considering similar homes in Coogee sell for around $5 million.