Property auctions are Sydney’s newest sport

By Celina Ribeiro

It’s a bright, frosty morning in Sydney, and I’m walking down a leafy avenue, cheery sandwich boards pointing me towards my destination. I arrive at an unremarkable yellow-brick house, a large flag billowing in its front yard. A crowd is gathering on the lawn: people in exercise clothes clutch children, prams, dogs and takeaway coffees. Like them, I’m here for a special occasion. Today is auction day.

Saturdays in Sydney have long been a time for team sports, but in recent years a more unconventional pursuit has joined the mix: property auctions. This weekend, 665 are taking place. Sydney has seen a property boom in the past decade: from 2012 to 2017, house prices increased by 75%. Auctions – the means by which most houses and flats are sold here – have become a spectator sport, drawing Sydneysiders in their masses.