Clearance rates hit a three-year low as buyer caution deepens amid economic headwinds
Scheduled auction volumes across Australia's combined capital cities are set to decline this week, with 1,994 properties listed — 188 fewer than the 2,182 that proceeded last week, a fall of 8.6%.
Despite the week-on-week drop, current volumes are 11.8% above the 1,784 auctions held in the same week of 2025.
Melbourne leads the scheduled volumes with 889 properties, followed by Sydney at 680, Brisbane at 185, Adelaide at 148, Canberra at 70 and Perth at 22. Tasmania has no auctions scheduled this week. Sydney and Melbourne together account for 1,569 of the 1,994 scheduled properties — 78.7% of national volume — reinforcing the concentration of auction activity in those two markets.
Volume declines are also concentrated in Sydney and Melbourne, which are down from 724 and 1,065 respectively. Brisbane and Adelaide are also expected to ease from 165 and 104. Canberra and Perth are forecast to lift modestly.
"The week-on-week reduction is consistent with the seasonal pattern typically observed at this point in the calendar, as the market moves deeper into autumn and activity gradually winds down ahead of the quieter winter weeks," said Cotality economist Annabelle Mezieres.
"The fact that volumes remain above the same week of 2025 across most capitals suggests the reduction is seasonal rather than a structural shift in vendor behaviour. Another possibility is that prospective vendors are more eager to sell before conditions soften further."
Next week, 2,376 properties are scheduled for auction.
Weekly clearance rate, combined capital cities
Source: Cotality
A total of 2,182 auctions were held across the combined capitals last week, down from 2,561 the prior week and up from 1,735 in the equivalent week of 2025. Declines were broad: Melbourne fell from 1,277 to 1,065, Sydney from 826 to 724, Brisbane from 206 to 165, and Adelaide from 146 to 104. Canberra was the sole capital to record growth, rising from 98 to 113. Perth (11) and Tasmania (0) volumes remain too low to draw conclusions from.
Clearance outcomes were mixed at the city level. Adelaide improved to 65.4% from 61.6%, and Brisbane to 54.5% from 46.6%, both recording stronger clearance ratios on lower volumes. Sydney eased to 51% from 53.3% and Melbourne to 52.2% from 57.2%. Canberra softened to 48.7% from 54.1%.
The combined capitals weighted clearance rate came in at 52.4%, down from 55.3% the prior week and well below the 65.0% recorded in the equivalent week of 2025. This is the lowest weighted clearance result since December 2022 and places the market in a band historically associated with negative capital growth in the largest capitals.
The result reflects a divergence in sentiment between vendors and buyers. Vendor confidence appears intact, with Sydney and Melbourne volumes up and total volumes running 25.8% above the same week of 2025. However, buyers are exercising caution, with roughly half of auction stock in the two largest capitals failing to sell — indicating that households are not prepared to meet vendor price expectations at current levels.
"Overall, macroeconomic pressures are stacking up," Mezieres said. "The RBA lifted the cash rate to 4.35% this month, the third hike this year which nullified the 75 basis points of cuts last year, with inflation at 4.6% and fuel costs still feeding through from the Middle East conflict.
"With incomes being squeezed, consumer sentiment is at historic lows, and the 2026 27 Federal Budget has added further uncertainty for investors through proposed changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount. Historically, sentiment shifts like this don’t reflect in dwelling values immediately."
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