Sydney was the star of the show with a healthy preliminary clearance rate of 72.7 per cent. The leading auction house also saw 5.4 registered and 2.9 active bidders per property, on average.

Ray White New South Wales Chief Auctioneer Alex Pattaro said properties that were heading to auction which were well priced, and in desirable locations, still continued to fire.

“Today we saw some tremendous results with ferocious bidding and a high number of registered bidders rolling into Sydney auctions,” Mr Pattaro said.

“Competition is absolutely paramount. Buyers are exceeding their initial price indications if there's competition at auction.

“We're seeing an increased number of Sydney sellers who are looking to relocate to  regional parts of New South Wales. Sellers are taking full advantage of the competition and strong prices.

“Open home numbers remain rampant with a strong number of attendees rolling into new-to-market properties. Spring has started off with a bang and we expect to see strong results into the warmer months.”

“I've been to an auction and bid before but I was outbid then so I know exactly how it feels to miss out on a property that you really want to purchase.

“Auctions are a blend of excitement and stress but when you love a property then you really have no choice other than to compete in that environment.

“I've been putting it off for quite a few years and now is as good a time as any. I've been saving for a while now, and I have to say, COVID-19 has not put me off buying property at all.”

Successful buyer, Anthony (above left with his wife), said he was thrilled as he never expected to be the winning bidder.

“My wife and I have been looking for a long time so it's a huge relief that our search is now over and we can move on,” Anthony said.

“It has been difficult trying to find our dream home. We'd find a house we wanted and it would be gone almost immediately.

“But today worked out really well, when the hammer came down and we realised the house was ours, we were just in shock.”

“Ray White Upper North Shore has just had its best August ever and the market is really good here – the demand for property is definitely outstripping the supply,” Mr Lazar said.

“The countdown to Christmas is beginning and anyone thinking about selling should seriously consider listing their property now to take advantage of the competition in the market.

“We had over 60 groups through during the campaign and that culminated in five registered bidders on the day, four of whom were active, and the winning bidders were a local family.

“The property was popular with both families and downsizers because of the single-level layout and the cute and compact floor plan really ticked the boxes for both demographics.”

“This was the first time I'd ever attended an auction and the first time I'd ever bid so it was a nervous experience but the stress goes away quickly,” Ms Chan said.

“It's hard to know what your competition is willing to bid up to, but once you get into it, you find yourself becoming comfortable with the whole experience.

“It's a great time to buy at the moment with the interest rates so low, so we decided to take advantage of this and not wait any longer to buy a property.

“I had confidence to buy now and the price was within the range I was willing to pay so I'm very happy to be staying in Wahroonga because I love it here.

“I loved the size of the land and the fact the backyard is north facing and there are also so many great schools around the area.”

“The campaign for this property was incredibly active with over 100 groups coming through the open homes and that led to six registered bidders on the day,” Mr Carvalho said.

“The opening bid was bang on the reserve price of $2,500,000 and that actually knocked out four of the registered buyers, so it came down to a battle between two parties, with the eventual winning bidders a couple downsizing from North Shore Sydney.

“Interestingly, the underbidder was bidding on the property sight unseen from Europe, as they were looking to return to Sydney and were relying only on viewings from their family members.

“The market is holding up well and competition remains fierce for properties so it's a good time to bring your property to market now.”

“This sale was a great example of why auction is such a good method of sale because you only need two competing parties to secure a great price for the vendor,” Mr Wilkins said.

“The campaign was active throughout with around 12 groups coming through each week as the property attracted interest from young couples, young singles, and older couples downsizing.

“The market here is strong with demand very much outstripping the supply of property on the market, driven mainly by the historically low interest rates.

“The lucky winning bidder was an older lady and she was very happy with her purchase.”

“Our average number of registered bidders has remained consistent from recent weeks and certainly the clearance rate for September, the start of spring, is tracking ahead of recent months,” Mr Peereboom said.

“There are certainly great and positive indications heading into the end of the year and we've had a number of market segments performing beautifully.

“Inner-city apartments, through to prestige properties, through to rural – we've had it all this week. A massive shout out to Bruce Douglas and Bill Seeney from Ray White Rural Queensland after their $35,000,000 sale under the hammer on Friday morning.

“Landmark sales like that are absolutely bolstering the confidence that we have with the activity that's happening in the marketplace. We're so confident in recommending coming to the market now and with the activity and competition at our auctions, it's an exciting time.”

The home was designed by the well-known Harry Poulos Architects firm and featured one of only two elite Fastlane swim machines in Australia.

Ray White New Farm Premium Property Specialist Christine Rudolph sold Ms O'Neill's home and said the auction had a nail biting finish with only a $5,000 bid separating the two parties.

“We had two registered bidders who went toe to toe for the property,” Ms Rudolph said.

“The successful buyers were local medical specialists who were the first buyers to see the house during inspections. It was love at first sight for them as they'd always wanted a waterfront home.

The new owners of the riverside home said they never expected to walk away the winners.

“We've been looking for a family home for about six months and had narrowed it down to The Corso because we love the neighbourhood,” they said.

“We're so happy to be settling there and have already met a few of the neighbours. The children have seen it and they absolutely love it.

As for the pool, the buyers said despite them being a little out of shape, they weren't planning to let it go to waste.

Sellers and local business owners of Niche Reform, Jonathon and Jessica Grealy (above), were over the moon with the $1,262,000 million under the hammer result and were eager to move on to a bigger home nearby.

With six active bidders of 12, the auction was underway in seconds with an opening bid of $800,000. Eager buyers didn't hesitate as the bidding flew past $1 million, eventually selling to a Taringa buyer over the phone.

Ms O'Dea said the campaign was non-stop from the first open home.

“The interest came from that 30's to 40's age bracket, people who are selling their first home and looking to move on to the next stage,” Ms O'Dea said.

“It's comfortable and well-maintained, but also something you can expand on down the track.”

The Paddington agent added that this section of the market focusing on entry level, liveable homes around the $1 million to $1.3 million mark, had been particularly strong lately.

“The market's booming in the inner-city. There are plenty of active buyers who are hotly trying to establish themselves in the Paddington market,” she said.

Mr Jonker said the auction, conducted by Ray White Auctioneer Philip Parker, started strongly with most of the four registered bidders actively bidding.

“It was really great. We had about 60 people attend, and prior to the auction, we had 33 inspections,” Mr Jonker said.

“A lot of work went into getting this house ready for sale. The sellers put in new electrics, new lighting, painted and landscaped. It's a beautiful Queenslander on the side of the hill and you just don't get an opportunity like this very often.

“It's now going to another nice family so it couldn't have ended any better.”

“Ray White are yet again dominating the auction market share with almost 55 per cent of auctions this week flying a yellow flag,” Mr Morris said.

“Last week we did have a low clearance rate of approximately 50 per cent but we did have the second most amount of auctions that we've called this year.

“We're coming off a month where the clearance rate was above 60 per cent and bidding and registrations remain high at 5.5 per auction.

“Coincidentally, we had 111 auctions in August and we have 111 scheduled for the whole of September.”

In an early morning auction for Adelaide, Ray White Semaphore Principal Peter Kikianis sold 68 Hayward Avenue (above) in Torrensville, under the hammer for $705,000.

Mr Kikianis said despite only eight groups viewing the four-bedroom home, that interest translated into six registered bidders, with four active on the day.

“The couple that bought the property are planning to renovate and create their dream home.

“There was spirited bidding between the four of them and everyone is ecstatic about the result.”

Later on, Ray White Norwood Agent Mannas Chan successfully sold 24 Fourth Avenue, Klemzig under the hammer for $497,500.

Mr Chan (above left with the buyers right) said both the buyers and sellers were extremely happy with the result.

“We had five registered bidders, with two battling it out. There was some negotiation but they were quite competitive,” Mr Chan said.

“The three-week campaign was very strong. We had 43 groups come through, they were mostly first home buyers attracted to the good location and entry-level price point.”

“While businesses from all industries looked to the Victorian Government last Sunday for guidance on what the reopening of Melbourne looked like, real estate, like many industries, was left disappointed,” Mr Dullens said.

“Instead of a gradual opening up from this coming Monday, a six-week extension to the ban on private, one-on-one inspections for potential buyers and tenants was announced.

“This was not what we were expecting, but more importantly, it was not what our customers were expecting.

“We've had literally hundreds of customers – sellers, buyers, landlords and tenants – contact us experiencing significant financial and emotional distress on the back of the extended restrictions.

“Members of our community need to transact and some simply do not have the luxury of time. Of course, we fully appreciate the health considerations.

“The industry has shown an ability to adapt and transact in a safe way – be that here in Melbourne under previous stage 3 restrictions, currently in regional Victoria in stage 3 settings or in Sydney, where up to 100 can attend an onsite auction – even with some community transmission.

“Despite all of this, we're not aware of any virus transmission from any real estate activities anywhere in Australia.

“It has been pleasing to see the Victorian Government open to adjusting some business settings over this weekend – adjustments to beauty services and animal care were announced today.

“As always, we welcome the opportunity to work proactively with the government to find solutions and help those in our community under so much duress, most importantly, in a safe manner.”