The market doesn't wait. It just moves on. Price it right at the start — everything else follows.
 
Raine & Horne Lower North Shore Team Howe Weekly  ·  15 June 2026
 
David’s Take · Weekly Letter

“Grateful people are often happier people.”

Not because life is perfect, but because gratitude helps us notice what is already good.

The small things begin to matter more. Ordinary moments feel more meaningful.

And happiness starts appearing in places that were there all along — we simply hadn’t noticed them yet.

 
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Houses On The Market — Part 2
 
There is a conversation we often hear from vendors before a campaign starts.
“Can we just test the market first?”
I understand why people ask that. In many cases, they have owned the home for many years. They have worked hard for it. They want to make sure they are not leaving money on the table.
That is completely fair. The problem is not wanting a strong price. Every owner wants the best possible result.
The real problem is starting with a number the market does not support, then trying to correct it several weeks later after the strongest buyer interest has already passed.
The Market Doesn’t Wait. It Just Moves On.
On the Lower North Shore right now, quality stock is still moving.
Properties priced correctly in the $3m to $8m range are generating genuine competition and selling within their first campaign. These are usually the homes where the pricing is supported by evidence, not just hope.
The ones that are not aligned with the market are still sitting. And sitting is not an option if the owners are serious about selling.
Every extra week on market sends a message to buyers, whether that message is fair or not.
Buyers start asking questions. Why hasn’t it sold? Is the vendor unrealistic? Is there something wrong with the property?
Buyers in this price range are well informed. They track the market. They compare recent sales. They notice when a property has been repriced.
And once they draw a conclusion, it is very difficult to change their mind.
The longer a property sits, the more it’s discounted — not just in price, but in perception.
The Honest Number. Before the Campaign.
The role of a good real estate agent is to give the vendor the honest number before the property goes to market — not four weeks into the campaign.
That means working through the comparable evidence properly and applying it to the property’s size, land, position, condition and level of buyer demand.
The price range should be one the market can support. Not just a number the vendor wants to hear. Not a number designed to win the listing. A number that gives the campaign the best chance of creating real competition.
When the entry price is right, the campaign has a much better chance of doing its job. Buyers engage. Competition builds. The vendor stays in control. And the property can move without needing to be corrected later.
What Late Reductions Actually Cost You
Price reductions are not always a failure of the property. In many cases, they are a sign that the original appraisal was not properly aligned with the market.
Beyond the price itself, a late price reduction can cost the vendor in other ways.
•Three to six weeks of marketing have already been spent without generating the right level of enquiry and buyer engagement.
•Additional money may need to be spent to refresh the campaign and attract buyers back to the property.
•Buyers who waited for the reduction often feel they were right, so they negotiate harder.
•The vendor can lose confidence as the campaign drags on, making it more difficult to hold firm during negotiations.
•The reduced price becomes the ceiling, not the floor. Buyers don’t compete from it, they negotiate down from it.
That is why a late reduction is rarely just a price change. It can change the entire feeling around a campaign.
The agent who gave you the high number to win the listing will not be paying those costs. You will.
A Practical Note on Timing
We are now in the mid year window. Auction clearance rates remain firm for well-priced stock. There is genuine buyer depth in the $3m–$6m bracket — downsizers, upsizers, families making long-term moves.
If you’re thinking about a late-year campaign, the conversation to have now is the appraisal. Before the market shifts, before summer stock thins the field, and before you’re making decisions under pressure.
David’s Take

The most expensive mistake a vendor can make is trusting an appraisal that was designed to win the listing rather than sell the property.

I’ve spent thirty years watching the market correct optimism. It does so without sentiment. Price it right at the start. Everything else follows.

 
Lower North Shore
Houses — Actual Data
Lower North Shore Houses Data Chart 1
David’s Take

798 properties listed on the Lower North Shore in 2026 — 423 sold, 116 withdrawn, 259 still active.

The sell-through rate of 53% tells you the market is moving, but not without friction. 87% of all sales were achieved via the auction process — pre, at, or post auction.

Pre-auction was the dominant method at 42% — meaning most buyers are moving before the hammer. Private treaty accounted for just 13% of sales. Auction strategy is still the right call on LNS.

The 116 withdrawals are the quiet story — mostly overpriced stock the market simply walked past.

Other Significant Dataset
Across the Lower North Shore, the data is showing a clear build-up in the middle of the market.
Of the 259 houses currently listed across the Lower North Shore, the largest concentration of stock sits between $3m and $5m.
There are 75 homes in the $3m–$3.99m range and another 39 homes in the $4m–$4.99m range. Together, that is 115 homes, or 44.2% of the current market.
That tells us one thing very clearly: buyers in this price range have choice.
The days-on-market data also tells an important story. Around 58% of homes have been on the market for less than 60 days, which means there is still fresh activity.
Lower North Shore Houses Data Chart 2
David’s Take

The $3M–$4M band carries 29% of stock — the market’s centre of gravity right now.

Nearly 34% of listings have sat beyond 90 days. That’s not bad luck; it’s a pricing problem.

Fresh stock moves. Stale stock discounts. The data makes the argument better than I can.

Lower North Shore Houses Data Chart 3
David’s Take

Supply has more than halved since the 4 May peak — new listings fell from 54 to 14 in eight weeks.

Sales are holding steady at ~13/week, keeping total inventory contained in a 210–270 band.

The pressure signal this week: price cuts jumped to 26 — nearly double last week’s 15.

Median DOM has ticked up to 49 days, matching the highest point in this 8-week window.

Clearance rates remain 18pp below last year. Auction use has retreated from 48% to 34%.

Stock is tightening. But vendors without the right price are feeling it more than ever.

Lower North Shore Houses Data Chart 4
David’s Take

88 of 259 active listings are going to auction or EOI — that’s 34%, down from a peak of 48% in mid-May.

31 properties are scheduled for the week of 20 June, the busiest single week in the pipeline.

The pipeline thins sharply after that — just 6 in the week of 11 July, and 1 on 18 July.

The retreat from auction reflects vendors losing confidence in competition at current price levels.

Watch the 20 June results closely — they will set the tone for the winter market.

If you’ve been wondering what your home is actually worth right now — not what you hope it’s worth, not what an agent told you to win the listing — call me. I’ll give you the honest number. No obligation, no spin, no follow-up pressure. Just the evidence.

Next week’s topic: Interpreting the Auction trend for Houses in the Lower North Shore market.

 
 
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David Howe
Partner Agent · Raine & Horne Lower North Shore
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Charles Tang
Team David Howe · Raine & Horne Lower North Shore
Raine & Horne Lower North Shore
Lower North Shore
140 Sailors Bay Road, Northbridge NSW 2063
Compiled by Team Howe. Statistics drawn from Domain, REA, and our own active LNS listing and sales data as at 15 June 2026. Figures are provided in good faith and may have changed since publication. Interested parties should make their own independent enquiries before relying on any information herein.

© Raine & Horne Lower North Shore. You are receiving this because you have previously been in touch with our office about Lower North Shore property.