Rebecca and Bernie Ferguson, with daughter Ashlyn, 5, and son Mitchell, 2, are taking their Lane Cove home to auction. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Homeowners who put their properties up for auction have been laughing all the way to the bank as the Sydney housing market continues to heat up.

Auctions concluded this year netted vendors an average of about $70,000 above their price guides, with the median value of properties sold under the hammer at just under $1.25 million.

This was nearly $400,000 higher than the median price of private treaty sales, realestate.com.au research showed.

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Many of the strongest sales occurred over the months following the federal election, with August auctions delivering particularly solid results for vendors.

Close to four in five homes going to auction over the last two weeks sold under the hammer — the highest clearance rate in close to two years.

No. 11 Mahratta Ave in Wahroonga sold $400,000 over reserve.

The slew of successful sales included even some of the city’s most dilapidated homes.

An uninhabitable one-bedroom house on Mahratta Ave in Wahroonga sold last week for $400,000 above reserve at $1.6 million.

And in the inner west, a rundown home on Old Canterbury Rd in Lewisham pipped the reserve by $310,000 to net the vendors $1.26 million.

The big sales came as housing experts warned spring, usually the most active period of the year for listings, would be the “driest” in years leaving multiple buyers competing for the same homes.

No. 16 Old Canterbury Rd, Lewisham sold $310,000 over reserve.

This environment was prone to sparking bidding wars at auctions, real estate trainer and auctioneer Tom Panos said.

“Sellers will be in a very good position,” he said.

This weekend there will be just under 350 home auctions — an unusually low volume for a weekend so close to spring.

Realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee said the strongest auction markets were areas where there was a short supply of family-friendly properties within easy access of the CBD.

“(They’re) recovering the fastest and we will soon see buyers spread to other areas,” she said, adding that the weakest selling markets were high-rise construction hubs.

Upsizers Rebecca and Bernie Ferguson said the short supply of homes suitable for families encouraged them to take their three-bedroom unit at 21 Longueville Rd in Lane Cove to auction.

It will go under the hammer on September 7 with LJ Hooker’s Danny Gorgievski and Ms Ferguson said they were hoping the early spring auction would aid the search for their new home.

“We knew from looking for our next home that there isn’t much stock so an auction worked for us,” she said.

“The tricky part will be finding what we like. We want a three- or four-bedroom house but we haven’t seen anything that’s felt right for us.”