Are buyers negotiating more in Sydney after 104 days on market?

[makeTheCanvas]

I’m trying to decide how much weight to put on days on market when making offers in Sydney. Asking-price data is everywhere, but completed sale figures and the earlier asking history are harder to piece together.

The market looks split rather than uniformly fast or slow. For new-build flats around A$772,200–A$1,158,000, I’m seeing roughly 104 days on market, while properties with a clear answer on service charges seem to move differently. Are buyers actually negotiating more after that long, or am I missing relisted and withdrawn stock? Recent completed examples where the final price differed from the public asking history would be particularly useful.

 

[nova_park]

The missing detail is probably the neighbourhood and development, not the Sydney-wide average. At 104 days, some sellers will negotiate, but others may simply be willing to wait. Withdrawals and relistings can also make the visible timeline less informative.

Are you comparing like-for-like flats on condition, parking and recurring charges, or mainly grouping them by price?

 

[makeTheCanvas]

Mostly by price so far, which may be the flaw. I’ve kept new builds separate, but not drawn tight neighbourhood boundaries or consistently separated parking and condition. I’m also unsure whether to count a withdrawn listing that returns with a lower price as one campaign. Would you track the first advertised date or only the latest listing?

 

[alba.oak]

I’d track both dates. The first shows how long the seller has been testing the market; the latest shows what today’s buyers see. Note every price cut and withdrawal between them.

I wouldn’t assume 104 days automatically means bargaining power, though. A seller with no urgency can reject discounted offers indefinitely, whereas a newer listing may be negotiable if financing or timing matters to the seller.

 

[round_stone]

Build a small comparison sheet by development or a very tight surrounding area. Include original ask, latest ask, first and latest listing dates, sold price where available, condition, bedrooms, parking and service charges. Keep withdrawn properties in a separate column rather than treating them as sales.

Also compare new-listing volume with completed sales. If similar flats keep appearing while few complete, that tells a different story from one stale property in an otherwise active pocket.

 

[SmallLoft]

There’s another caveat: the discount from asking price is only meaningful if the original ask was realistic. A large reduction from an ambitious starting figure may still produce an ordinary completed price.

For an actual offer, I’d anchor it to the closest completed properties rather than subtracting a standard percentage after 104 days. Then ask the agent direct questions about previous offers, the reason for selling, preferred timing and whether the seller values certainty from a financed buyer. Answers may be incomplete, but they help distinguish stale stock from genuine motivation.