Close to one in five auctions withdrawn as clearance rates stall below 60%

The preliminary auction clearance rate has recorded a modest rise since the Easter long weekend, rising to 58.9% last week, one percentage point higher than the week prior (57.9%, revised down to 52.7% once finalised) and 3.5 percentage points higher than the Easter low (55.5%). However, this was the third week running where the preliminary clearance rate has held below the 60% mark, well down on the March quarter average of 68.1%.

Auction clearance rates are being negatively impacted by a high portion of withdrawn auctions, which count as an unsuccessful outcome in the results. Last week, the preliminary numbers showed 19.1% of auctions were withdrawn from sale across the combined capitals, highest in Sydney, where 26.7% of auction results reported so far were withdrawn from the market.

The number of auctions held also rose, jumping by more than a third (34.3%) from the week prior, with 2,520 auctions held. Comparing with a year ago isn't all that helpful given the timing of Easter in 2025 (644 auctions held in the same week last year), but prior to Easter, the volume of auctions has been holding well above 2025 levels.

Melbourne led the auction market from a volume perspective, with 1,202 homes going under the hammer, up 37.4% from the week prior. The preliminary figures show 59.7% of auctions have reported a successful result so far, up from 57.8% the week prior (revised down to 52.3% on final numbers). This was the third week running where Melbourne's preliminary clearance rate has held below 60%.

924 auctions were taken to market in Sydney, a 35.1% increase on the week prior. 56.5% of auctions have reported a successful result, based on the figures collected to date, up from 54.4% the previous week, which revised down to 48.8%, the lowest finalised clearance rate for Sydney since April 2020.

199 auctions were held in Brisbane, a 70.1% jump in volume relative to the week prior. The preliminary clearance rate dropped to 57.2%, down from 60.9% the previous week, to be the second lowest preliminary clearance rate so far this year (after the Easter long weekend).

Adelaide saw 118 homes taken to auction, 5.6% fewer than the week prior. The preliminary clearance rate came in at 73.9%, up from 70.8% and the second week in a row where the early clearance rate has been higher than 70%. Canberra hosted 66 auctions, with half (50%) reporting a successful result so far. Only eleven auctions were held in Perth and no auctions in Tasmania.

With ANZAC Day on Saturday this week and several states holding a long weekend (NSW, ACT and WA), auction numbers are set to drop. Cotality is currently tracking around 770 auctions scheduled to go under the hammer this week, bouncing back to approximately 2,660 the week after.