Vendors delay listings ahead of expected RBA rate cut
The preliminary clearance rate across Australia’s combined capital cities slipped to 68.8% last week, down from over 70% in the prior fortnight, according to new figures released by property analytics firm Cotality.
Despite the decline, the latest result remains just above the 2024 average of 68%. The pullback comes as vendors await the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision, due later today. Markets widely anticipate a cut, prompting a sharp rise in scheduled auction volumes.
“It seems that many vendors are holding out for the RBA’s interest rate decision,” said Caitlin Fono (pictured above), research analyst at Cotality. “With the cash rate widely expected to reduce, the volume of scheduled auctions across the combined capitals is set to rise to around 2,360 this week – a 29% jump on last week.”
Auction activity on the rise
Cotality reported that a total of 1,835 homes went to auction last week, the highest since the pre-Easter surge when over 3,000 homes were listed. The figure is expected to grow further to about 2,700 next week as confidence builds ahead of a potential monetary policy shift.
Melbourne remained the top performer among the capitals, recording a preliminary clearance rate of 73.8% — its second-highest early result of the year. The city hosted 935 auctions, a week-on-week increase but still 7.3% below the same period in 2024.
Sydney’s auction market showed signs of cooling. The harbour city posted a clearance rate of 65.3%, with 558 homes up for auction, down from 656 the week before. “Excluding the more volatile results from January, last week was the lowest preliminary clearance rate for Sydney since the week ending December 15, 2024,” Fono said.
Mixed results in smaller capitals
Brisbane led the smaller capitals with 134 auctions, the busiest week since before Easter. However, its clearance rate fell back to 59.6%, after being revised down to 59.8% the previous week.
Adelaide held 132 auctions, up from 109, but its clearance rate edged down to 64.1%. This figure trails the city’s year-to-date average of 67.4%.
The ACT recorded a modest increase in auction activity with 68 homes listed, but its preliminary clearance rate dropped to 56.6%, the weakest in three weeks. Perth and Tasmania remained low-volume markets, with limited data available — three of four known results in Perth were successful, while Tasmania’s single reported auction was unsuccessful.
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