Capital city results remain subdued as spring listings begin to rise, with buyers gaining ground across most markets
Fewer than half of all homes offered at auction across Australia's combined capital cities sold in the week ending 23 August 2026, with the weighted average clearance rate finalising at 48.2%, down 0.7 percentage points from 48.9% the previous week.
A total of 1,390 properties went under the hammer across the capitals, up 8.9% from 1,276 the week prior but 32.7% below the 2,066 auctions conducted in the same period a year ago.
The national clearance rate has now sat below 50% in 12 of the past 13 weeks.
"The weighted average clearance rate was roughly 70% at this time last year, meaning the clearance rate has fallen roughly 21.8 percentage points over the year, leaving more than half of all homes scheduled for auction unsold," said Annabelle Mezieres (pictured right), economist at Cotality.
"Auction volumes are roughly one third below last year, so fewer homes are being brought to auction, yet a larger share of them are failing to sell. With the stock of listings rising into spring and clearance rates remaining subdued, buyers have greater choice and more room to negotiate, and vendors achieving a sale are generally ready to meet the market."
Melbourne remained the largest auction market, hosting 594 auctions — broadly unchanged from 588 the previous week but 39.7% below the 985 held a year earlier. Its clearance rate eased to 51.9% from 52.9% week-on-week, sitting 19 percentage points below the 70.9% recorded in the same week of 2025.
Sydney was the only capital to improve on both measures week-on-week, with its clearance rate rising to 50.3% from 47.1% and auction volumes increasing 16.3% to 477 from 410. Even so, Sydney's volume remains 34.6% below the 729 auctions held this time last year, and its clearance rate is 21.3 percentage points below the 71.6% recorded in 2025.
Adelaide held 90 auctions, recording a clearance rate of 46.7% — 22.7 percentage points below the 69.4% achieved a year ago. Brisbane cleared 32.7% of its 151 auctions, a fall of 29.8 percentage points from 62.5% in the same week last year, the sharpest year-on-year decline among the major capitals.
Canberra's clearance rate was 40.9% across 66 auctions, down 18.6 percentage points year-on-year. Perth reported only 11 auctions, with a clearance rate of 27.3%, compared with 87.5% from eight auctions in the equivalent week of 2025. Tasmania's sole auction did not sell, mirroring the outcome from the same period a year earlier.
A total of 1,543 properties are scheduled to go under the hammer across the capital cities in the final week of winter — up approximately 11% from last week's 1,390 auctions but 29.5% below the 2,190 conducted in the equivalent week a year ago.
Melbourne leads with 630 auctions scheduled, up 6.1% on last week but 41.8% below the 1,082 held in the same week of 2025. Sydney follows with 599 homes scheduled, a 25.6% rise on the prior week's 477 but 26.0% lower year-on-year compared with 810 auctions in 2025.
Adelaide has 108 auctions scheduled, a 20% increase from 90 the previous week and 4.9% above the 103 held a year ago — making it the only smaller capital to sit above its year-ago level. Brisbane is steady at 149 auctions, down marginally from 151 last week but 21.1% above the 123 held in the same week of 2025, the strongest year-on-year result among the smaller capitals.
Canberra has 49 auctions scheduled, a 25.8% fall from 66 the prior week and 22.2% below the 63 scheduled at the same time last year — the steepest year-on-year decline of any capital. Perth has seven auctions scheduled, down from 11 the prior week but broadly in line with year-ago levels. Tasmania has a single auction scheduled.
"The week-on-week rise means that vendors are bringing properties into the market for the spring season," Mezieres said. "The year-on-year decline, primarily observed in Melbourne and Sydney, suggests that fewer vendors are listing properties compared to the same period in 2025.
"Cotality expects auction volumes to ease slightly into the first fortnight of spring, with just over 1,450 auctions currently scheduled for the week ending 6 September and just over 1,440 the week after. That suggests we could expect a steady flow of listings through early September."
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