Auction activity climbs 30% above 2025 levels, but clearance rates remain well below historical norms
More than 2,200 homes are expected to go under the hammer across Australia’s combined capital cities this week, with auction volumes higher than the same period last year despite weaker clearance rates.
Cotality data shows 2,262 capital city properties are scheduled for auction, down 11.7% from 2,561 auctions last week but 30.4% above the 1,735 recorded in the equivalent week of 2025.
Melbourne is expected to be the largest auction market, with 1,036 homes listed. That is below the 1,277 auctions held last week but 29.7% higher than the 799 recorded at the same time last year.
Sydney has 819 auctions scheduled, little changed from 826 last week and above the 656 held in the same week of 2025.
Among the smaller capitals, Brisbane has 174 auctions scheduled, up from 107 a year earlier. Canberra has 114 auctions on the books, more than twice the 50 held in the same week last year. Adelaide has 107 scheduled auctions, down from 146 last week and slightly below the 109 recorded a year ago.
Perth is expected to host 12 auctions, while no auctions are currently scheduled in Tasmania.
The annual rise in auction volumes comes as clearance rates remain under pressure. Cotality said the lift may suggest vendor confidence has held through autumn, or that more owners are seeking to sell before conditions weaken further amid higher interest rates and rising advertised stock levels.
| Capital city auction statistics (Final) – week ending 3 May 2026 | |||||
| City | Clearance rate | Total auctions | Total auction results | Cleared auctions | Uncleared auctions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 53.3% | 826 | 826 | 440 | 386 |
| Melbourne | 57.2% | 1,277 | 1,277 | 730 | 547 |
| Brisbane | 46.6% | 206 | 206 | 96 | 110 |
| Adelaide | 61.6% | 146 | 146 | 90 | 56 |
| Perth | n.a. | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Tasmania | n.a. | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Canberra | 54.1% | 98 | 98 | 53 | 45 |
| All capitals | 55.3% | 2,561 | 2,561 | 1,415 | 1,146 |
| Source: Cotality | |||||
Last week, auction activity rose sharply after ANZAC Day and long-weekend disruptions in some states. Across the combined capital cities, 2,561 homes went to auction, up 238% from 757 the previous week. It was the sixth-busiest auction week of the year.
The preliminary weighted average clearance rate was 55.3%, slightly higher than 54.9% a week earlier but below the 63.1% recorded in the same week of 2025.
Melbourne accounted for the largest share of last week’s activity, with 1,277 auctions, compared with 244 the previous week and 776 a year earlier. Its clearance rate rose to 57.2% from 54.9%, but remained 9.6 percentage points below the 66.8% recorded in the corresponding week of 2025.
Sydney recorded 826 auctions, more than three times the 251 held the week before and 47.0% above the 562 recorded a year earlier. Its clearance rate rose to 53.3% from 51%.
Brisbane held 206 auctions and recorded a clearance rate of 46.6%, down from 48.8% the previous week and below 48.1% a year earlier. Adelaide held 146 auctions, with its clearance rate easing to 61.6% from 68.8%.
Canberra recorded 98 auctions and a clearance rate of 54.1%. In Perth, six of seven auctions were successful. Tasmania held one auction, which was passed in.
Cotality said 2026 is on track to be the weakest clearance-rate year since the COVID-disrupted 2020 period. The national weighted clearance rate has been below 57% for seven consecutive weeks since the week ending March 22 and below 56% for six straight weeks.
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