Melbourne and Sydney lead the charge as volumes hit year's third busiest week
Capital city auction volumes are set to rise this week, with 2,816 homes scheduled to go under the hammer, according to new data from property analytics firm Cotality.
The figures mark an increase from 2,460 auctions held last week and 2,380 during the same period last year.
“If all of these auctions go ahead, it will be the third busiest auction week of the year,” said Caitlin Fono (pictured above), research analyst at Cotality. “Next week, the number of capital city homes going under the hammer is expected to fall to around 1,300, with all but two states celebrating the King’s Birthday long weekend.”
Melbourne is expecting 1,371 auctions this week, the fourth highest tally of the year so far. That compares with 1,223 properties auctioned last week and 1,109 this time last year.
Sydney is also anticipating a jump, with 1,095 auctions scheduled, up from 799 a week ago and 899 year-on-year. If all planned auctions proceed, it would represent the harbour city’s third busiest week of the year to date.
Among the smaller capitals, Brisbane is due to host the most auctions with 148, followed by Adelaide at 124 and Canberra at 68. Perth has nine scheduled auctions, while just one is slated to occur in Tasmania.
Last week, 2,460 homes were taken to auction across the combined capitals, a rise from 1,784 the previous week and 2,264 the same week last year, Cotality reported. The national clearance rate reached 65.1%, the highest recorded since July 2023. The previous week saw a 64.9% rate, while 63.6% of auctions cleared a year ago.
Melbourne’s clearance rate dipped slightly to 66.0%, down from 68.0% the week before but higher than the 61.0% rate recorded last year. Auction volumes also rose compared to the prior week, when 890 homes were listed.
In Sydney, 799 homes went to auction last week, an increase from 555 the week before and 767 during the same week in 2023. The city posted a final clearance rate of 67.3%, the highest since August 2023. That compared with 62.6% a week earlier and matched the same rate achieved a year ago.
Brisbane led activity among the smaller capitals with 205 auctions, followed by Adelaide at 119 and Canberra with 96. Canberra posted the strongest clearance rate at 62.5%, ahead of Adelaide (61.3%), Brisbane (56.6%) and Perth (44.4%). Tasmania saw no auction activity last week.
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