Melbourne and Sydney still trail last year's results by more than 20 percentage points
Combined capital city clearance rates lifted to 45% last week, up 2.7 percentage points from 42.3% the previous week, according to Cotality's latest auction figures.
Despite the improvement, this marked the fifth straight week that the combined capitals result stayed under 50%.
Auction volumes fell over the same period. A total of 1,748 homes went to auction across the combined capitals, down 7% from 1,880 the week before and 14.5% below the same week last year.
Melbourne held its position as the largest auction market, hosting 807 auctions, or 46% of the national total. Volumes there dropped 12.6% week on week and 16.1% year on year. The city's clearance rate rose to 46.6% from 43.6%, but remained 21.6 percentage points below last year's reading of 68.2%.
Sydney's auction numbers held relatively steady at 631, a modest fall from 642 the previous week and 18.2% lower than the 771 recorded a year earlier. Its clearance rate climbed to 43.1% from 41.7%, though this sat 24.1 percentage points under last year's 67.2%.
Adelaide was the only capital to post volume growth on both a weekly and annual basis, with 116 auctions, up 24.7% week on week and 28.9% higher than a year ago. Its clearance rate also improved, reaching 53.4% from 48.4%.
Brisbane's clearance rate edged up to 36.8% from 35.4%, though it remained the weakest result among the capitals and well short of last year's 67.4%. Auction volumes there eased to 136, a 5.6% decline from the previous week.
Canberra's clearance rate was unchanged at 41.3%, while volumes fell sharply to 46 auctions, down 27.0% on the prior week and 31.3% on the same week last year. Perth recorded 12 auctions, three fewer than the week before, and Tasmania logged no auctions for a second consecutive week.
Of the 1,748 properties taken to auction nationally, 662 were passed in and 299 withdrawn, meaning roughly 55% of vendors did not secure a sale. Sydney recorded the most withdrawals, at 162, while Melbourne recorded the highest number of pass-ins, at 327.
“The consistent downward trend in the weighted average clearance rates across an eight-week period, from 52.4% to 45%, highlights a genuine trend rather than short term fluctuations,” said Annabelle Mezieres, economist at Cotality. “The weekly results are consistent with the June Home Value Index (HVI) release, which reported the largest monthly drop since December 2022.”
Sydney and Melbourne, which recorded the weakest clearance rates and the largest annual volume declines, also led monthly value falls, down 1.2% and 1% respectively.
“June was challenging for sellers, as more than half of auctioned properties did not sell, withdrawal rates were elevated, and clearance rates declined in most capitals,” Mezieres added. “The market ended June with the softest conditions of the reporting period occurring in the second half of the month.”
Outlook for the week
Cotality expects around 1,490 homes to go to auction across the combined capitals this week, a 14.6% fall from last week's 1,748 and 16.8% below the same week last year.
Melbourne is forecast to account for the largest share, with roughly 570 auctions scheduled, down 29.7% week on week and 26.1% below year-ago levels. Sydney is expected to remain broadly steady at around 630 auctions, only slightly below last week's 631, though still 8.6% lower than a year earlier.
Adelaide is the only capital forecast to sit above 2025 levels, with about 110 auctions scheduled, 6.9% higher than the same week last year despite a 6.0% weekly decline. Brisbane volumes are expected to fall to around 120, down 13.2% weekly and 25.3% annually, while Canberra is forecast to rise 37.0% week on week to just over 60 auctions, still 8.7% below last year.
Perth has 10 auctions scheduled, against 12 last week and 11 a year ago, while Tasmania has none listed, compared with two in the same week last year.
Cotality projects auction volumes will decline further into July, forecasting approximately 1,300 homes to go under the hammer the following week, around 13% below this week's total, as seasonal winter trends continue.
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