Bulli's Auctions Are Failing. Its Prices Aren't. Here's What Changed. — Week Ending 12 July 2026

The Take

Bulli's auction clearance rate over the past twelve months sits at 9 per cent.

In the same period, its median house price climbed 12.5 per cent. Sit with that for a second, because it shouldn't be possible.

A market that strong should be clearing well above half its auctions.

Instead, almost every property that goes under the hammer in Bulli gets passed in - and the sale still happens, just not on auction day, and not for the price the agent quoted at the letterbox drop.

Here's what actually changed. Negative gearing on established homes died on 12 May this year for anyone buying after that date.

That's not a future policy, that's already the rulebook for every established Bulli house that's changed hands since. Investors who used to show up on a Saturday and push a Woonona three-bedder past reserve just to lock in a tax-effective loss are largely gone from that room. What's left at auction is owner-occupiers, who don't bid the same way.

They don't chase. They wait, they watch the crowd thin out, and they make their move afterwards.

I've watched this play out in the last three months of Bulli sales data. 32 Park Road went under offer inside six days at $3.18 million - a genuine standout property that didn't need a crowd to sell.

Compare that to 34D Wallbank Way, a solid torrens-titled townhouse that sat on the market for 175 days before it finally landed near the top of its guide.

Same suburb, same twelve-week window, two completely different campaigns. The good stock is moving fast through private negotiation. Everything else is drifting until a buyer decides to end the wait.

The auction itself has become theatre. The real number gets set afterward, in a phone call between the agent and whoever put in the strongest written offer before the hammer ever came down.

The Numbers

• NSW clearance rate: 58.3% (w/e 11 July) - up from 53.1% the week before, still 22 points below last July

• Wollongong SA3 listings: 601 in May - above the five-year average of 498, giving buyers real choice

• Bulli auction clearance: 9% over 12 months vs 12.5% price growth - the auction room isn't where these deals get made

The One Action

If you're chasing something in the Bulli–Woonona–Thirroul pocket and it's been listed for three weeks or more without going under contract, stop waiting for auction day.

Put a genuine, time-limited pre-auction offer in writing and force the agent to take it to the vendor now.

With investor competition thinned out by the negative gearing change, sellers who see a soft crowd building are frequently relieved to bank a real number early rather than gamble on a public pass-in that spooks every other buyer watching.