One week is a long time in the real estate industry, as the difference in Sydney’s auction performances apart shows.

Low clearance rates in western Sydney had the effect of dragging down the overall auction clearance rate below 70 per cent for the first time since June.

On Saturday, Sydney reported a clearance rate of 69.4 per cent which was the weakest performance since June 10 and well down on the 73.7 per cent recorded last weekend, a seasonal high.

Saturday’s result was also significantly lower than the 84.1 per cent reported over the same weekend last year when the local market was supercharged by interest rate cuts.

Sydney auction numbers were also down at the weekend with 579 homes listed compared to the 632 homes listed last weekend. But it remained significantly ahead of the 492 auctioned over the same weekend last year. Auction listings however, are set to rise strongly in the coming weekends as the spring selling season gathers momentum, with nearly 700 auctions due next weekend.

Sydney recorded a median auction price of $1.16 million on Saturday which was sharply lower than the $1.33 million reported the previous weekend and 1.3 per cent lower than the $1,175,000 recorded over the same weekend last year. A total of $305.3 million worth of property was reported sold at auction in Sydney at the weekend.

First home buyers remain thin on the ground in NSW, particularly, reflecting high and still-rising prices in the Sydney housing market. Latest data from the ABS reported that 1528 first home buyer loans were approved during June in NSW which was a fall of 4.5 per cent compared to the previous month.

NSW first home buyer loan numbers have now fallen by 5.2 per cent over the first six months of this year, compared to the same period last year, and account for a near record low 4.6 per cent of all residential lending approvals in the state. This is the lowest market share of all the states and well below the next highest Victoria with 9.2 per cent.

Recently, lower first home buyer numbers in NSW may also reflect stamp duty reductions for this group that came into force on July 1 with buyers holding back until that date. Regardless of these new benefits, the Sydney market will remain a monumental challenge for first home buyers for the foreseeable future.

Higher-priced, inner-suburban regions continue to attract buyers in Sydney with clearance rates in these areas remaining consistently above 70 per cent. Sydney’s mid and outer western suburbs however, were sharply lower this weekend and were a clear factor for the lower overall clearance rate.

The city and east was the top performing region at the weekend with a strong clearance rate of 83.3 per cent followed by the lower north (78.6 per cent), the upper north shore (77.8 per cent), the inner-west (74.6 per cent), the northern beaches (72.4 per cent) and the south (70 per cent). Below the 70 per cent mark was the south-west (64.3 per cent), the north-west (62.5 per cent), the west (57.8 per cent), the central coast (42.9 per cent) and Canterbury Bankstown well down this weekend with a low clearance rate of 38.7 per cent.

Notable sales reported at the weekend included:

The most expensive house reported sold at auction was a six bedroom home at 17 Dulwich Road, Chatswood sold for $5,635,000 by Chadwick Real Estate. The most affordable property reported sold at the weekend was a two-bedroom unit at 10/10 Fairmount Street, Lakemba sold for $415,000 by Ray White Punchbowl.