Melbourne buyer's agent Emily Wallace told Yahoo Finance this was reflected across the country, with a monumental lift in people looking to capitalise on falling interest rates and upcoming changes to the first-home buyer scheme.
She said properties are being sold well before listed auction dates as buyers try to get in before being faced with frenzied competition.
"Auctions are very well attended, but the more pressing issue is that things are being sold ahead of their auction date, and buyers who aren't ready are missing out," she said.
A poll of more than 1,000 Yahoo Finance readers found 47 per cent felt pressured to buy a home now to avoid potentially paying a lot more in a few months' time.
While under-quoting has been a problem in the real estate game across the country, Wallace said high auction turn out and above guide sales was more reflective of fierce competition.
"A lot of the cases, it's that the vendor has a realistic reserve, but it's the buyers that are driving the price. I think it's definitely more a case of a bit of FOMO creeping in," she said.
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She asked her social media followers how much they had seen properties recently sell for at auction.
"Thornbury [home] range was $840,00 to $880,000, and it went for $1.04 million," said one person.
"Fawkner [home] range $740,000 to $790,000, sold for $970,000. Wild part to me was how many bidders there were, given the inspections were pretty quiet. Still four plus bidders going well into the $900,000s," added another.
"Wheelers hill [home] quoted $1.38 to $1.45 million, sold for $1.856 million," commented a third.
That's a $160,000 to more than $400,000 difference in sale price versus quoted price.
According to July sales figures, national dwelling values rose 0.6 per cent, which was the sixth consecutive monthly increase.
Normally 'quiet' property season whips into frenzy
This winter, Wallace's agency had its biggest July on record this year — at a time typically when buying sentiment was very quiet.
In comparison, July last year was so dull her team took the whole month off.
She said it's normally not until spring that home sales kick off their weeks-long campaigns and people start to be a bit more active in the market.
The buyer's agent attributed the shift partly to the three recent interest rate drops from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
This led buyers to feel more confident, hoping they could get in before the spring rush.
She also put the demand down to the government's expansion of the first-home buyer scheme, which was originally due to kick in on January 1.
"The sentiment on my phone calls is, 'I want to get in before January 1'," she said.
"When those caps get taken off, people who have more disposable income will be trying to get these properties and will outbid those who actually need the scheme."
Wallace said her clients have been very conscious of the looming date.
Three in a single day recently told her they wanted to expedite their purchase before the scheme was expanded.
Wallace said this signalled how many people don't want to be competing with the expected influx of first-home buyers.
When you combine those two aspects with limited supply, Wallace said it's no surprise properties are being sold for well above expectations.
Aussie buyers languish as properties sell well above quote range
One buyer recently attended an auction in Melbourne's Narre Warren where the home went for $145,000 over the quoted range.
"Yeah we're never going to buy a home, are we?" she wrote on social media.
Many people had similar feelings about their prospects of ever owning a home.
"I don't even want to buy anymore.. saving my money for yearly holidays instead," another noted.
"This was us for nine months. Constantly losing. Bids constantly going $150,000-200,000 over asking. It’s SO mentally exhausting," said another buyer.
Wallace told Yahoo Finance that it was understandable to feel a sense of dread, but she said sales can take time and urged buyers to be patient.
"It's very deflating, particularly the first auction. The first one's always the worst one for low buyers, sort of like their first heartbreak," she said.
"Persistence is a numbers game. It's not going to happen on the first go most of the time."
She has also seen buyers get "really freaked out" after attending an open home inspection and pulling themselves out of contention.
"Just because the first open has a lot of groups through, it doesn't always translate to lots of bidders on the day," she said.
Wallace said buying a home will likely be an "emotional rollercoaster", and you have to be prepared to ride through all the ups and downs.
