Sydney leads all capitals in clearance rate rebound, though volumes and rates remain well below a year ago
The weighted average final clearance rate across Australia's capital cities rose to 49.7% in the week ending 26 July, its highest level in eight weeks.
Despite the improvement, the rate remains 18.8 percentage points below the 68.5% recorded in the same week of 2025, when conditions were considerably stronger.
There were 1,415 auctions held across the capitals, a 3.5% increase from the previous week but 17.3% fewer than the 1,710 conducted in the equivalent week last year. The four-week average stands at 47.4%.
Sydney recorded the strongest result among the capitals, with its clearance rate climbing 10.9 percentage points to 53.3% — the city's best result in 17 weeks. The number of Sydney auctions, however, fell 3.8% to 426.
Melbourne hosted the most auctions of any capital, with 710 homes going to auction — up 18.5% on the prior week. Its clearance rate rose 1.1 percentage points to 51.7%, the best Melbourne result in five weeks.
Adelaide held 100 auctions, down 9.1% from the previous week, and returned a clearance rate of 49%, a marginal increase of 0.8 points. Brisbane cleared 29.5% of 132 auctions, down 5.9 points from the prior week — the weakest result among the major mainland markets.
Canberra's rate jumped 20.4 points to 51.4% from a low base of 37 auctions. Perth cleared 20% of 10 auctions, while Tasmania held no auctions.
Across July as a whole, the national weighted average rose from 46% in the week ending 5 July to 49.7% by 26 July, with a dip to 45.3% mid-month. Melbourne posted steady weekly gains over the period. Brisbane was the outlier, remaining in the low-to-mid 30s throughout.
Year-on-year, auction volumes are 17.3% below 2025 levels, and the clearance rate is 18.8 percentage points lower, reflecting a market clearing both fewer properties and a smaller share of those listed.
Weekly clearance rate, combined capital cities
Source: Cotality. Week ending 26 July 2026.
An estimated 1,302 auctions are scheduled across the capital cities this week, down 8% from last week's 1,415 and 17.3% below the 1,575 held in the same period of 2025.
Melbourne is the primary driver of the decline, with 553 auctions scheduled — a 22.1% fall from 710 last week and 24.2% below the 730 held in the same week a year ago. Sydney has 451 auctions listed, up 5.9% on last week but still 21.0% short of the 571 held in the equivalent week of 2025.
"Auction volumes are likely to stay steady next week, with about 1,300 homes set for auction in the week ending 9 August," said Annabelle Mezieres, economist at Cotality. "Cotality expects the volume to fall to around 1,160 for the week ending 16 August."
Among the smaller capitals, Brisbane has 141 auctions scheduled, up 6.8% from last week and 10.2% above year-ago levels. Adelaide has 92 auctions, down 8.0% on last week but 9.5% above the 84 held in the same week of 2025. Canberra has 54 auctions lined up, a 45.9% increase on last week's 37, and just 1.8% below the 55 held a year ago. Perth has 11 auctions planned, up from 10 last week and seven a year ago.
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