Average bidder numbers at auction have fallen below two, and PIPA Chair Cate Bakos was quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald on why buyers are holding back while conditions favour them.
What the figures show
Ray White figures reported by Elizabeth Redman in the Sydney Morning Herald on the 5th of August 2026 put the average number of active bidders per auction below two. The same measure sat at about three for much of last year. Attendance at open homes has fallen to about two potential buyers on average, against three to four in stronger markets. Clearance rates had been below 60 per cent, the level generally read as a balanced market, for several weeks.
NAB now forecasts capital city dwelling prices to fall 5 per cent this year, revised from an earlier forecast of 2 per cent, with peak to trough declines of about 10 per cent in Melbourne and Sydney.
Why buyers are holding back
Cate Bakos, Chair of PIPA, told the Herald that buyers have much better conditions, with room to buy at a discount and to set their terms. Many are waiting regardless. Some are waiting for interest rate cuts next year, some need to sell before they can buy, and some are less active through winter. She has often bought properties after they passed in at auction with no competition, or with one other party bidding.
She also described the effect of social proof at a quiet auction. When nobody bids, the people in attendance can assume something is wrong with the property. The Herald reported her view that this is most pronounced at the entry level, where first home buyers can be nervous.
Sometimes a buyer will not have competition, which they should see as a good thing because it means they will pay less.
Cate Bakos, Chair of PIPA, quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald, the 5th of August 2026
What a single bidder means for price
Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee explained in the same article that two bidders is the minimum for an auction to uncover the market price, because a single bidder is bidding against no one. Three or four parties make an auction considerably more competitive.
The only bidder will usually pay less, but the auction has not tested the price. The figure agreed has been set by the vendor’s reserve and the buyer’s own bids, and neither establishes market value. That evidence has to come from recent sales of comparable properties, ideally on comparable streets, and from the results of nearby properties that passed in over the same weeks. It is the same street level test PIPA applied to the leafy suburb premium in Melbourne.
Whether anything is wrong with a property is a question for the building and pest inspection and the contract review. The number of people at the auction does not answer it.
Preparation required before auction day
PRD chief economist Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo noted in the article that an auction is unconditional and carries no cooling-off period. A successful bidder has no later opportunity to withdraw because finance falls through or an inspection finds a defect. The work therefore has to be completed before the auction starts:
- Finance approval confirmed in writing for the amount the buyer intends to bid, noting that in a falling market a lender’s valuation can come in below the purchase price.
- Review of the contract of sale and the vendor’s disclosure documents by a conveyancer or solicitor.
- A building and pest inspection, with any defects priced before bidding.
- A price limit set from comparable sales and recorded before the auction.
- A settled position on the price and terms to be offered if the property passes in and negotiation moves to the vendor’s agent.
Waiting on a forecast
Ms Bakos told the Herald that waiting to see what happens will not help a buyer who is serious about buying. The difficulty with waiting for the market to bottom out is that the bottom can only be identified after it has passed, and forecasts move. NAB’s forecast for this year has already been revised from a 2 per cent fall to a 5 per cent fall. Ms Conisbee observed that when a recovery arrives, buyers tend to return together, which brings competition back to the auctions that are quiet now.
For an investor, the question is whether a particular property at a particular price meets the investment’s objectives on rent, holding costs and time horizon. That question is answered by a comparable sales analysis and a cash flow model for the property, rather than by a forecast for the capital city market.
What a consumer should ask for
A buyer advised to bid at a quiet auction, or to negotiate after a property passes in, is entitled to ask the adviser for the comparable sales evidence behind the recommended price, in writing and before the auction. Consumers can find a Qualified Property Investment Adviser through PIPA.
Why the accreditation exists
Property investment advice is not a licensed profession in Australia, and no qualification is required to recommend a purchase price or a bidding strategy. The QPIA accreditation sets the education standard for advisers who choose to meet it, and the PIPA Code of Conduct sets the obligations that accompany it, including disclosure of commissions and the requirement to act in the client’s interest. PIPA continues to advocate for property investment advice to be brought inside a regulatory framework.
Reported by
Elizabeth Redman, The Sydney Morning Herald, 5 August 2026
Also published by The Age, Brisbane Times and WAtoday, and in print in The Weekly Times on 12 August 2026. Figures from Ray White, PRD and NAB as reported. PIPA has commented on this coverage for members and consumers. Copyright in the original article remains with its publisher.
