‘Most challenging market in 30 years’: Inner west vendors cut reserve to sell waterfront home

Downsizers paid $2.35 million for an oversized apartment in Abbotsford at auction on Saturday as Sydney’s clearance rate fell to its lowest level this year.

One of the bidders for 21/3 Harbourview Crescent tried to make a lowball bid for the three-bedroom waterfront home, which came with a sunny entertaining balcony, a clever built-in cabinet, well-presented kitchen and a double garage.

The property was one of 807 scheduled to go to auction in Sydney last week. By Saturday evening, Domain recorded a preliminary auction clearance rate of 46 per cent from 472 reported results throughout the week, while 176 auctions were withdrawn. Withdrawn auctions are counted as unsold properties when calculating the clearance rate.

This early read is a lower result than the 47 per cent recorded in the second-last week of June, when buyers were pausing their plans to consider the budget’s changes to the tax treatment of investment properties. Since then, the cash rate has been increased for the fourth time this year. The preliminary clearance rate is likely to fall as more results are reported.

The Abbotsford home was listed with a price guide of $2.2 million to $2.42 million and attracted three registered buyers, all of whom participated at auction.

An attempt to make a lowball first bid of $2.1 million was not accepted, but a bid of $2.2 million was.

There were two bids of $50,000 each, then when the price reached $2.32 million and stalled the owners decided to put the property on the market. Their reserve had been $2.35 million but they reduced it to meet the buyers.

The third bidder jumped in with a last-minute bid of $2.34 million. The winners countered with a $10,000 rise and the home sold to local downsizers.

Horwood Nolan selling agent Ben Horwood said the owners were happy. “They got what they were hoping for, which is rare in this market,” he said. The vendors bought the home intending to downsize there, then leased it out for a few years. He said the budget changes made them reconsider their plan.

He thought the home was appealing because it was larger than most apartments. “It has got a nice view and it is, I think, a testament to that area around Abbotsford,” he said.

He described the market broadly as “challenging”. “It is the most challenging market I have seen in my whole career, in 30 years. But there is buyers around. If the property is priced correctly it will sell,” he said.

In Erskineville, a first home buyer paid $1.58 million for a renovated 1890s terrace home after the vendor cut their price.

The three-bedroom home at 1 Bray Street had high ceilings, a sleek kitchen and a backyard deck, and a price guide of $1.62 million.

One buyer participated in the auction, a woman renting in the area who made an opening bid of $1.5 million. The price was negotiated higher with her on the auction floor to $1.58 million and it sold. The reserve price had been $1.7 million.

There is no legal requirement for a vendor’s reserve to be in line with their property’s price guide.

“She was ecstatic,” Ray White Erskineville selling agent Shaun Stoker said, adding the buyer may rent out the other two bedrooms.

Stoker said many auctions are one-bidder auctions in this market.

“Gone are the days when an agent quotes the price and it goes above,” he said. “Buyers are coming to auction even though they are under the quote price.”

In Castle Hill, a family home with a granny flat and swimming pool sold in another one-bidder auction for $2,525,000, or $350,000 less than its last sale price.

The five-bedroom property at 4 Turton Place last sold in March 2025 for $2,875,000.

Before that, it sold in April 2024 for $3,161,000, records show.

It was listed for sale this spring with a price guide of $2.6 million. One bidder registered for auction and some negotiations were conducted before the auction began.

On the auction floor, the buyer, an upsizing family, bid $2,525,000 and the home sold. Proximity to the train station and multi-generational accommodation were drawcards.

The reserve price had been at the $2.6 million mark but was adjusted to sell. The vendors will make a lifestyle change.

“The market is tough, certainly more geared towards buyers right now,” Stone Real Estate Beecroft/Castle Hill/Epping selling agent Karen D’Angola said.

But she said there had been strong results at auctions in the area. “Vendors are adjusting to current market conditions,” she said.