Mortgage Business More dwellings sell before and after auctions in lockdown By Malavika Santhebennur 09 July 2021 Properties sold before and after auctions spiked in Sydney and Melbourne during lockdowns compared with the last five years, according to a report. CoreLogic has released a report on the housing market through pandemic lockdowns, which has revealed that in Sydney, the percentage of properties sold before auction surged to 35.2 per cent for the two weeks ending 4 July, up from 23.1 per cent over the past five years. This proportion also rose to 28 per cent during stage 2 restrictions in 2020. Meanwhile, the proportion of properties sold at auctions in Sydney declined from the pre-COVID-19 series average of 44.1 per cent to 32.3 per cent during the 2020 stage 2 restrictions and 36.3 per cent during the Greater Sydney lockdown in June/July 2021.