Combined capitals' clearance rate drops more than 3% week-on-week, with Sydney recording its lowest in four weeks
The weighted clearance rate across Australia's combined capital cities fell to 45.3% in the week ending 19 July, down 3.2 percentage points from 48.5% the previous week, according to Cotality data.
The four-week average sits at 46.2% and the eight-week average at 46.5%, indicating the market is no longer trending sharply lower. "This suggests the decline in clearance rates may be stabilising, with both measures holding around similar levels rather than continuing to trend lower," said Annabelle Mezieres, economist at Cotality.
Melbourne recorded the highest clearance rate among the capitals for the week, with its rate rising for four consecutive weeks to reach its highest point since mid-June. The city hosted 599 auctions — up 4% from 576 the prior week — and cleared at 50.6%, marginally above the previous week's 50.3%.
Sydney moved in the opposite direction. Auction volumes held steady at 443, compared with 444 the prior week, but the clearance rate dropped 8.3 percentage points to 42.4% from 50.7%, its lowest result in four weeks.
Among the smaller capitals, both Adelaide and Brisbane recorded higher auction volumes. Adelaide rose 31% to 110 auctions, clearing at 48.2%, up three percentage points; while Brisbane increased 26.2% to 164 auctions but held its clearance rate flat at 35.4%, remaining the weakest of the major markets.
Canberra held 42 auctions, down 30% on the week. The capital's clearance rate was at 31%, falling 20.7 percentage points to its lowest result of the year, though its small volumes make it susceptible to sharp swings.
Perth cleared four of its eight auctions for a 50% rate, while Tasmania's single auction did not sell.
Year-on-year comparisons show a marked deterioration. The combined capitals clearance rate of 45.3% compares with 69.4% for the same week in 2025, while total auction numbers are down 12.4%. Every major city has recorded fewer auctions than a year ago, with Canberra and Brisbane seeing the steepest volume declines, followed by Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne.
Mezieres said the fall in auction clearance rates "points to softer buyer demand amid stretched affordability, the cumulative impact of Reserve Bank interest rate rises, and pressure on household incomes and confidence associated with the Iran conflict and Federal Budget policy changes."
After elevated activity in late 2025, auction volumes across most capital cities have been gradually returning towards long-term averages.
A total of 1,455 homes are scheduled for auction across the capital cities in the week ending 26 July, representing a 6.4% increase on last week's 1,367 but a 14.9% decline compared with the 1,710 auctions held during the same week in 2025.
Melbourne leads with 680 scheduled auctions, up 13.5% from 599, while Sydney is set to host close to 500, a 12.2% rise from 443. Together, the two cities account for 135 additional auctions, more than offsetting a collective decline of 47 across the remaining capitals. Both cities nonetheless remain below their year-ago volumes — Melbourne is 13.5% lower than its 786 auctions in the corresponding 2025 week, and Sydney 16.8% lower than its 597.
Among the mid-tier capitals, Brisbane has the sharpest week-on-week decline, falling 19.5% to 132 auctions. Adelaide and Canberra are down 10.9% to 98 and 7.1% to 39, respectively. Compared with last year, Adelaide is running 22.5% higher than its then-scheduled 80 auctions, while Brisbane sits 29.4% below its year-ago level. Perth has nine scheduled auctions this week; Tasmania has none.
"Apart from the weekly changes, the volume of auctions is steadying instead of increasing or decreasing sharply," Mezieres said. "This week's total of 1,455 auctions is nearly identical to the four-week average of 1,466 and remains well below the eight-week average of around 1,700."
Looking further ahead, approximately 1,200 properties are expected to go to auction in the week ending 2 August — around 17.5% fewer than this week — with volumes forecast to ease slightly further to roughly 1,190 in the week ending 9 August.
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