Final Clearance Rates – week ending 23 August 2026

Final Clearance Rates – week ending 23 August 2026

Fewer than half of capital city homes sell at auction

Last week, 1,390 homes went under the hammer across the combined capital cities, up 8.9% on the 1,276 held the previous week, but 32.7% below the 2,066 auctions held in the same week a year ago. The weighted average clearance rate finalised at 48.2%, down 0.7 percentage points from 48.9% the previous week. This is the 12th week in the past 13 in which the national clearance rate has remained below 50%.

The weighted average clearance rate was roughly 70.0% at this time last year, meaning the clearance rate has fallen roughly 21.8 percentage points over the year, leaving more than half of all homes scheduled for auction unsold.

Auction volumes are roughly one third below last year, so fewer homes are being brought to auction, yet a larger share of them are failing to sell. With the stock of listings rising into spring and clearance rates remaining subdued, buyers have greater choice and more room to negotiate, and vendors achieving a sale are generally ready to meet the market. A year ago, seven in ten homes taken to auction sold and this week, fewer than five in ten sold.

Melbourne remained the largest market, with 594 auctions held, little changed from the previous week (588) but 39.7% below the 985 held a year ago. Its clearance rate eased to 51.9% from 52.9% week-on-week and is 19.0 percentage points below the 70.9% recorded a year ago.  

Sydney was the only capital to improve on both measures week-on-week, with the clearance rate rising to 50.3% from 47.1% and volumes up 16.3% to 477 from 410. That said, Sydney’s auction volumes are 34.6% below the 729 held this time last year, and the clearance rate is 21.3 percentage points below 71.6% in 2025.

Adelaide held 90 auctions, with a clearance rate of 46.7%, 22.7 percentage points below 69.4% a year ago. Brisbane had a wide year-on-year gap, clearing at 32.7% from 151 auctions against 62.5% a year ago, a fall of 29.8 percentage points.

The clearance rate in Canberra was 40.9% across 66 auctions, 18.6 percentage points below the same week last year. Only 11 auctions were held in Perth, with its clearance rate finalised at 27.3%, down from 87.5% off eight auctions a year earlier. Tasmania's only auction did not sell, the same result as last year.

Auction Market Preview – week ending 30 August 2026

Auction volumes rise to 1,543 in the final week of winter, remaining nearly 30% below last year's level

1,543 homes are scheduled to go under the hammer across the capital cities this week, that’s an increase of about 11.0% on last week's 1,390 auctions but 29.5% below the 2,190 auctions carried out in the equivalent week a year ago.

Melbourne has 630 auctions scheduled, the highest volume of any capital city. Auction volumes are up 6.1% on last week (594) but 41.8% below the 1,082 auctions held in the same week last year, accounting for the largest share of the national decline. Sydney is not far behind with 599 homes scheduled to go under the hammer, a 25.6% rise on last week’s volume (477) and 26.0% lower year-on-year (810).

A 20.0% increase in Adelaide’s auction volumes this week means that 108 auctions are scheduled this week, up from 90, which puts the city 4.9% above the 103 held a year ago. In Brisbane, auction volume remains steady at 149 auctions against 151 last week, a fall of roughly 1.3%. Compared with 2025, it is the strongest out of the smaller capitals; 21.1% above the 123 auctions held a year ago. Canberra has the steepest fall, with 49 auctions scheduled, that's approximately a 25.8% decrease from the 66 a week earlier and 22.2% below the 63 scheduled this time last year. Seven auctions are scheduled in Perth, down from 11 last week and roughly in line with the same week last year, while Tasmania has a single auction scheduled.  

The week-on-week rise means that vendors are bringing properties into the market for the spring season. The year-on-year decline, primarily observed in Melbourne and Sydney, suggests that fewer vendors are listing properties compared to the same period in 2025.

Cotality expects auction volumes to ease slightly into the first fortnight of spring, with just over 1,450 auctions currently scheduled for the week ending 6 September and just over 1,440 the week after (w/e 13 September). That suggests we could expect a steady flow of listings through early September.