In some of Sydney`s weaker urban areas, real estate agents told potential buyers at auction that the market downturn was "temporary" and urged them to buy during the downturn.
A potential buyer said he went to Blacktown and South Windsor, in Sydney`s west side on Saturday and wanted to see the investment house, hoping to get a discount on the price, when he found himself alone while looking at the two properties.
"A five-bedroom real estate agent in Andre Place, in Blacktown said they had already set a record in the area and that any bad news about the property was a media rumour and we had to fight them to the end," he said.
He also said the housing market will show negative growth within two years and then rise again.
A perfect property, only four years old, costs less than 1 million yuan, but ends up selling. South Windsor`s three-bedroom house at Macquarie Street 258 is also for sale.
The investor said he was not sure if he should buy a house because "the value of properties with a total rental yield of 3.5 percent to 3.7 percent is falling."
The auction liquidations in the two regions this week reflect weak trading activity at just 33 percent for, Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury, while Blacktown did not record a liquidation rate, with just five auctions in the region, according to Corelogic.
Sydney continued to maintain the low tone of the market, with an initial liquidation rate of 53.5 percent in 606 auctions, down from 61.3 percent of last year`s 808 auctions. The liquidation rate was just over 50% over the weekend, according to Domain.
Last week`s AFL Finals calmed the auction in Melbourne, starting to bounce back this week, with initial liquidation rates ranging from 53 percent to 54 percent for the week and weekend. But the two figures are still dwarfed by a liquidation rate of about 70% last year.
On Melbourne`s most popular inner east side, the auction liquidation rate, which has reached around 60 percent in the past two months, has fallen to an astonishing 48.3 percent.
