After a month or more of campaigning, seller anticipation and expectation come auction day can be through the roof (which is, coincidently, also where you’d like to see the sale price to go).

But for a host of reasons, the hammer mightn’t hit—and while your house passing in might not be what you’d hoped for, it’s not always a bad thing.

It’s not always a reflection of the property, either. Sometimes, even excellent properties don’t sell at auction. The market, financial timing, unrealistic expectations, and even styling can all impact the success of an auction, but an unsuccessful auction shouldn’t be seen as the end of the road. Instead, look at it as the first attempt of an ongoing sales campaign.

Often, after a property passes in at auction, it can actually go on to sell for higher than the reserve price. Not to the next highest bidder on the day (who will always try to negotiate a lower price), but to new buyers belonging to a small portion of the market that do not present at auctions for various reasons.

In 2023, Sydney’s auction clearance rate has averaged around 70%. That’s a 12% increase from 2022. On average last year, 494 homes sold under the hammer per week, generating $554,612,500 in sales, with only 98 homes passing in.

Still, week to week, it can prove hard to gauge interest in a property, with appeal sometimes peaking mid-campaign before fizzling out close to auction day. Potential buyers may talk themselves into thinking the property will go for much higher than the guide and therefore be out of their budget, or they can get psyched out by a large turnout on the day. When the property passes in, those interested buyers who thought they’d be priced out will likely return and make an offer.

While the competitive nature of auctions can often fuel a higher sale price, it can also scare some potential buyers away. And they are the people who will come out of the woodwork once the property goes to market and enters a private treaty process. Armed with everything they’ve learnt about the property over the course of the campaign, your agent will target these new potential buyers, bringing in an even better result than anticipated at auction.

So much comes down to timing, too. You might find that over the auction period, some buyers weren’t in the right financial position, perhaps waiting to save the 10% deposit, or even needing to close the deal on selling their own home first. Though not as common, sometimes sellers and agents will even purposely pass in a property at auction if it’s clear conditions aren’t right and they’re confident a better result awaits you after.