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At the close of another year, indicators for the residential property market are patchy at best and weak at worst.

It’s been a tale of not two, but several markets in 2011, as Sydney outperforms the rest of the capital cities, while resource-drive centres thrive and lifestyle markets face further weakness.

Those areas under the greatest pressure include the outlying suburbs of Western Australia, regional coastal cities in NSW, Victoria and Queensland where demand has not returned since disappearing after the financial crisis. Discounts of 30 per cent a year or more are commonplace for some vendors.

Banks have noted an air of caution from buyers despite the country’s near-full employment figures and high degree of saving and mortgage repayments.

Agents up and down the east coast have reported an uptick in genuine enquiry but only from qualified and well-informed buyers. They’ve got their finance in place and have been researching their desired market for some time and deciding that now is as good a time as any to start making offers.

Expect several off-market transactions right up until December 23, Sydney Property Finders director Dennis Kalofonos says, even though buyers have more than 300,000 properties to choose from across Australia. Tough deals are being put away prior to Christmas as vendors come to realise the true position of the market.