Final Clearance Rates – week ending 20 September 2026

Final Clearance Rates – week ending 20 September 2026

Clearance rate falls back below 50%

The weighted average final clearance rate across the combined capital cities was 49.1% last week, a fall of 3.5 percentage points from 52.6% the previous week. 15 of the past 17 weeks have had a weighted average clearance rate below 50%. In the same week last year, the clearance rate was 71.6%, 22.5 percentage points higher.

A total of 1,841 auctions were held across the combined capitals last week, the highest volume since late June (1,880). Compared with the 1,585 held the previous week, auction volumes were 16.2% higher, but 30.2% lower than the 2,638 held in the same week last year.

Melbourne held 918 auctions ahead of the Grand Final long weekend, 29.3% more than the previous week (710) and its busiest week since late June (923). At 54.2%, the city's clearance rate was the highest of any capital, although it eased 3.1 percentage points from 57.3% the week prior. Last week’s result was 17.4 percentage points lower than a year ago (71.6%) and was the smallest year-on-year fall among the capitals. Melbourne has now cleared above 50% for 11 consecutive weeks.

Across Sydney, 569 auctions were held last week, 3.8% more than the previous week (548). The clearance rate fell 6.6 percentage points to 46.2%, the lowest since early August (45.6%). A year ago, Sydney cleared 71.7%, 25.5 percentage points more.

In Adelaide, 112 auctions were held, a 41.8% increase on the previous week's 79, and the clearance rate was 46.4%, down from 49.4% the week prior. Adelaide's clearance rate was 35.7 percentage points lower than a year ago (82.1%), the largest annual fall of any capital.

Brisbane had the lowest clearance rate among the capitals at 31.4%, a fall of 7.1 percentage points from 38.5% the previous week. There were 176 homes taken to auction across the city last week, up from 169 the week prior. This is the 17th consecutive week that Brisbane’s clearance rate has held below 40%. Twelve months earlier, the city's clearance rate was 61.9%, 30.5 percentage points higher.

There were 56 auctions held in Canberra last week, 3.4% fewer than the 58 held a week earlier. Canberra's clearance rate rose 10.5 percentage points to 53.6%, its highest since early May (54.1%), although it remained 22.4 percentage points below the 76.0% of a year ago. Only Canberra and Perth had a higher clearance rate than the previous week. In Perth, five of the 10 auctions held last week were successful, compared with eight of 21 the week before and eight of 10 a year ago. There were no auctions in Tasmania.

Of the 1,841 auction results across the combined capitals, 652 were passed in (35.4%) and 285 were withdrawn (15.5%). Passed in auctions made up 69.6% of unsuccessful results, which could indicate buyers and vendors are apart on price. Higher interest rates may be a factor, as the Reserve Bank of Australia has raised the cash rate three times this year to 4.35%, and each increase reduces how much buyers can borrow.

Auction Market Preview – week ending 27 September 2026

Most capitals have more auctions than a year ago, yet the combined capital total is lower

Across the combined capital cities, 1,537 homes are scheduled for auction this week. Auction volumes are 16.5% lower than the 1,841 held last week and 11.4% lower than the 1,735 held in the same week last year.

Melbourne auction numbers are expected to fall 70.0% this week, with just 275 homes currently scheduled for auction, down from 918 last week. The drop in activity can largely be attributed to the AFL Grand Final long weekend. Over the same week last year, 224 auctions were held across the city.

Sydney has 904 of this week's scheduled auctions, which is 58.8 per cent of the combined capitals total. The number of auctions in Sydney is 58.9 per cent higher than the 569 that took place last week, although it is still 22.3 per cent below the 1,164 held in the corresponding week last year.

Adelaide has 106 auctions scheduled this week, 5.4% fewer than the 112 held last week but 35.9% more than the 78 held a year ago. In Brisbane, 18.2% fewer auctions are scheduled than last week (144 compared with 176), and 2.7% fewer than in the same week last year (148). 86 homes are scheduled for auction in Canberra, an increase of 53.6% on the 56 held last week, but 25.9% fewer than the 116 held a year ago. Perth's auction volumes have doubled in a week, with 20 scheduled compared with 10, and are four times the five held a year ago. Two auctions are scheduled in Tasmania, while none were held last week or in the same week last year.

Cotality expects auction volumes to ease again next week, with fewer than 1,300 homes scheduled for auction across the combined capitals. Monday 5 October is the Labour Day public holiday in New South Wales, the ACT and South Australia, and the King's Birthday public holiday in Queensland which explains the drop in volume. Auction activity is set to rise again once the long weekends have passed.