Auction volumes drop 22.4% as preliminary clearance rate hits a ten-week low

Last week, clearance rates were lower across most capital cities, and the weighted average preliminary result of 50.3% was the lowest in ten weeks. Melbourne's preliminary clearance rate of 48.8% weighed on the result, with auction volumes in the city almost 70% lower than the previous week due to the long weekend. Adelaide's preliminary clearance rate also dropped sharply, to 39.3%.

It was a quieter week for auctions across the combined capitals, with 1,428 homes going under the hammer. That's 22.4% fewer than the week before and 17.7% fewer than this time last year.

Sydney held the most auctions last week, with 790 homes taken to auction. That was up 39% on the previous week but down 32% on a year ago, and the city's busiest week since the final week of May, when 977 auctions were held. Vendors brought more homes to auction ahead of the Labour Day long weekend, with only 390 auctions scheduled for this week. Sydney's preliminary clearance rate fell 0.6 percentage points to 53.6%, the lowest in eight weeks but slightly above the winter average of 52.9%.

In Melbourne, 286 auctions were held over the long weekend, 69% fewer than the previous week but 28% more than during last year's Grand Final week. The preliminary clearance rate fell 7.5 percentage points to 48.8%, the lowest since early September 2021.

In Brisbane, the preliminary clearance rate rose 5.1 percentage points to 42.6%. The city held 144 auctions, down 18.2% on the previous week and 2.7% on a year ago. Brisbane's preliminary clearance rate was below 50% in 18 of the past 19 weeks.

Adelaide had 103 auctions, 8.0% fewer than the previous week but 32.1% more than a year ago. Only 39.3% of reported auctions were successful, down 18.9 percentage points on the previous week. It was the second time this year the preliminary clearance rate was below 40%.

The preliminary clearance rate in Canberra decreased by 3.7 percentage points to 53.8%, remaining above the winter average of 45.4%. The city held 82 auctions, an increase of 46% from the previous week but a decrease of 29% compared to the same period last year.

A further 21 auctions were held in Perth, where the preliminary clearance rate was 42.9%, and 2 were held in Tasmania.