July 26, 2026 — 3:08pmA first home buyer couple paid $2.04 million for a renovated family home in Sydney’s south at auction on Saturday from sellers who had been willing to cut their price hopes – but didn’t need to.Seven parties registered for the three-bedroom house with high ceilings, a bright kitchen, striking pendant lights and a covered outdoor barbecue area at 56 Willison Road, Carlton, which had a price guide of $1.8 million to $1.9 million.The property was one of 564 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney last week. By Saturday evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 53 per cent from 311 reported results throughout the week, while 93 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.The clearance rate is above the 47 per cent mark it hit in late June but remains weak as 60 per cent is considered a balanced market and anything below that is consistent with falling prices. As more sales results are collected, the clearance rate is likely to be revised slightly lower.Bidding for the Carlton house began below the price guide, at $1.6 million, and rose in $50,000 increments at first.Although five parties made offers – mostly younger couples upsizing and one downsizer – proceedings slowed around the $1.9 million mark.The vendors’ reserve price was $2 million, but when bidding stopped at $1.96 million, an adjustment was made and the home was called on the market.This was enough to spur more bidding and the home sold for $2.04 million.There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.Ray White Hurstville selling agent Jason Galic thought bidding was not as quick as it might have been if the same property had come up for sale two years ago, but he said some of the parties who missed out had sold properties and could see an opportunity to upsize.The vendors are also upsizing, and Galic thought they had been able to buy their next home at a 15 to 20 per cent discount from what it would have fetched a year ago. “They got a great deal,” he said.“No-one is really selling for a profit right now. They are buying and selling in the same market,” he added.“It [the market] is not the best and most people know that – all buyers know that.”Elsewhere, a family home on a large block of almost 950 square metres in Ryde sold for $3.8 million to a local family.The price guide was $3.3 million for the five-bedroom house at 196 Buffalo Road.Eight parties registered and five were active – all families. Bidding began at $3 million and rose to $3.61 million, where it stalled.The reserve had been $3.8 million but the vendors adjusted it down to $3.7 million. Raine & Horne Lindfield selling agent Alex Sun said they called for an offer of $3.7 million, which was forthcoming, and he thought that may be the end of the auction.Then bidding kicked off again and rose in small $1000 and $500 increments up to $3.8 million.“The result is unbelievable for this area, I think it will give a bit more confidence,” Sun said.“The market is absolutely terrible … It is very hard to borrow the loans. Since the new policy that the government announced, different policies, that will affect the market.”Auctioneer Edward Riley of the eponymous agency said: “Demand hasn’t disappeared, it’s just become more discerning.“The market isn’t rewarding every property equally, but when a home is well presented, appropriately priced and backed by a disciplined campaign, buyers are prepared to compete decisively,” he said.In West Ryde, a young first home buyer couple paid $1,705,000 for a three-bedroom semi with a backyard at a Sunday morning auction in front of a crowd.Six parties registered and four made offers for 28 Mons Avenue, which had a price guide of $1.6 million.Bidding began below the guide at $1.5 million, at first in larger increments, then dropping to $10,000 offers from $1.6 million.Bids as small as $1000 were made after $1.65 million, and the price pushed past the reserve of $1.68 million.Uniland Real Estate sales principal Andy Lin said there was high demand from buyers for homes priced about $1.5 million to $1.6 million, but it was harder to sell $2 million-plus homes.Speaking about the broader market, he said some auctions were cancelled, buyers were holding back and agents needed to hold more open homes.“It is very tough. I think one of the most difficult in my 10-year career,” Lin said. “This is the first time I have seen the market so quiet.”Property listingsFrom our partners