Auction clearance rates rise as Melbourne drives lift

The combined capitals' preliminary auction clearance rate rose to 51.5% last week, according to Cotality, up 4.3 percentage points from the previous week.

A total of 1,734 auctions were held across the combined capital cities, up 1.2% week on week but down 43.5% from the same week a year earlier. That extends a pattern in which auction activity has been more than 40% below year-ago levels in three of the past four weeks.

Melbourne drove much of the lift in the headline clearance rate. The city's preliminary clearance rate rose almost 10 percentage points to 59.1%, its highest result in eight weeks and above the spring-to-date average of 55.1%.

Melbourne hosted 612 auctions, up 18.4% from the previous week. Even so, volumes remained 55.9% below the corresponding level last year.

Cotality said Melbourne had seen a particularly sharp fall in auction numbers since reserve price transparency rules took effect in mid-October. Excluding the previous week's long-weekend result, auction volumes in the city have been about 55% below corresponding 2025 levels over that period.

Sydney recorded the highest auction volume among the capitals, with 709 homes taken to auction. That was almost unchanged from the previous week's 710 auctions, but 40.2% lower than the corresponding week last year.

Sydney moved in the opposite direction on clearances, with its preliminary rate falling 1.5 percentage points to 52.3% from 53.8% a week earlier. Even so, the spring-to-date average of 54.3% remained slightly above the winter average of 52.9%.

Smaller capitals

Brisbane posted the highest auction volume among the smaller capital cities, with 178 homes taken to auction. That was 24.9% lower than the previous week and 14.8% below the level recorded a year earlier.

Brisbane's preliminary clearance rate rose to 31.2%, following results in the mid-20% range over the previous two weeks.

In Adelaide, 149 homes went under the hammer, the city's highest auction volume since the final week of March. Its preliminary clearance rate slipped to 43.5%, from 46.5% the previous week, and remained below the spring-to-date average of 44.5%.

The ACT recorded 68 auctions during the week, 12.8% fewer than the previous week and 50.0% below the corresponding week last year. Its preliminary clearance rate increased 8.3 percentage points to 47.2%.

Perth hosted 17 auctions and recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 36.4%. Tasmania reported one auction, which resulted in a sale.

Seasonal picture

Across the combined capitals, the latest clearance rate was only marginally above the spring-to-date average of 51.1%. It also remained below the winter average of 52.3%.

The figures point to a market in which clearance rates improved from the previous week, while auction volumes remained well below last year's levels in the largest cities. Melbourne's rebound in clearance rates stood out against a broader backdrop of subdued supply, while Sydney continued to post the highest volume despite a slight softening in results.

Activity in the smaller capitals was mixed. Brisbane and Adelaide recorded relatively solid volumes by their recent standards, while the ACT and Perth remained thin markets. Tasmania's single successful auction underlined how limited activity was outside the larger eastern seaboard centres.