Final Clearance Rates – week ending 19 July 2026

Final Clearance Rates – week ending 19 July 2026

Auction market remains soft as the clearance rate finalises at 45.3%

The weighted clearance rate finalised at 45.3% last week, down 3.2 percentage points from 48.5% the week before. The weekly clearance rate still fluctuates, but the four-week and eight-week averages have settled close together at 46.2% and 46.5%, This suggests the decline in clearance rates may be stabilising, with both measures holding around similar levels rather than continuing to trend lower.

Melbourne had the highest clearance rate this week; its clearance rate has been rising for four consecutive weeks, reaching the highest levels since mid-June. The city held 599 auctions, up 4.0% on 576 the week prior, and cleared at 50.6%, a touch firmer than the previous week's 50.3%. Sydney went the other way on clearance rates. Sydney’s auction volumes were steady at 443 compared to 444 the week prior, but the clearance rate fell 8.3 percentage points to 42.4% from 50.7%, its lowest rate in four weeks.

The smaller capitals were mixed as Adelaide and Brisbane both saw auction volumes rise relative to the week prior, up 31.0% to 110 and 26.2% to 164, respectively, with Adelaide clearing at 48.2% (up 3.0 percentage points) and Brisbane unchanged at 35.4%; still the weakest of the large markets. Canberra had 42 auctions, down 30.0% on the week, and a clearance rate of 31.0%, down 20.7 points from 51.7% and its lowest result of the year, though its small volumes make it prone to sharp swings. Perth cleared four of its eight auctions for 50.0%, and Tasmania held one auction that did not sell.

Compared to the same week last year, there is a substantial difference. The combined capitals clearance rate is now 45.3%, down from 69.4% last year, and the number of auctions is also down by 12.4%. This slowdown is happening everywhere, with every major city recording fewer auctions than a year ago. Canberra and Brisbane have seen the biggest drops, followed by Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne.  

More recently, however, the prevalence of auctions has begun to ease from the elevated levels recorded in late 2025, with most capital cities trending back towards their long-term averages.

Auction clearance rates have also weakened, falling from around 70% in September last year to below 50% in June and July this year. This points to softer buyer demand amid stretched affordability, the cumulative impact of Reserve Bank interest rate rises, and pressure on household incomes and confidence associated with the Iran conflict and Federal Budget policy changes. Vendor expectations have also been slower to adjust to these market conditions.

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Auction Market Preview – week ending 26 July 2026

A midwinter rise this week, with auction volumes set to ease again

This week, 1,455 homes are set to go to auction across the capital cities, which is a 6.4% increase from last week's 1,367. However, compared to the same week last year, when 1,710 properties were auctioned, this is a 14.9% drop.

The majority of this week's increase is attributable to the largest cities. Melbourne leads with 680 scheduled auctions, a 13.5% rise from last week's 599, keeping its position as the busiest market. Sydney follows close to 500 auctions, representing a 12.2% increase from 443. Collectively, these two cities contribute 135 additional auctions, exceeding the national increase of 88, as the other capitals collectively declined by 47. Perth is the only other city to record a slight increase, rising from eight to nine auctions. Both Melbourne and Sydney remain below last year's volumes; Melbourne is 13.5% lower than last year's 786, and Sydney is 16.8% lower than last year's 597.

In other cities, auction volumes are still falling. Among the mid-tier capitals, Brisbane has the biggest drop, down 19.5% to 132. Adelaide and Canberra are down 10.9% to 98, and 7.1% to 39, respectively. Compared to last year, Adelaide has 98 auctions, which is 22.5% higher than the 80 scheduled then. Brisbane, on the other hand, is 29.4% below last year's level. Perth is seeing nine auctions this week, while none are scheduled in Tasmania.

Apart from the weekly changes, the volume of auctions is steadying instead of increasing or decreasing sharply. This week's total of 1,455 auctions is nearly identical to the four-week average of 1,466 and remains well below the eight-week average of around 1,700. This is consistent with the slower winter pace seen in the 1,300-1,400 range over the past month.

Looking at the number of scheduled auctions two weeks out, approximately 1,200 properties are expected to go under the hammer in the week ending 2 August, around 17.5% fewer than this week. Scheduled auction volumes are then expected to ease slightly further to roughly 1,190 in the week ending 9 August.