Final Clearance Rates – week ending 25 October 2026

Final Clearance Rates – week ending 25 October 2026

Auction clearance rates end October at the lowest level since June

ith results for the final week of the month now in, October has had the lowest average clearance rate of any month so far this year. Last week, the weighted average final clearance rate across the combined capitals fell 4.0 percentage points to 43.6%, from 47.6% the previous week, the lowest weekly clearance rate since late June (42.3%).

Across the four weeks of October, clearance rates averaged 45.2%, 0.5 percentage points below June (45.7%), which had previously been the softest month this year. The previous week's 47.6% was the highest weekly clearance rate of the month. For comparison, the weighted average clearance rate peaked at 66.4% in February.

Auction volumes lifted 32.3% over the week, with 1,871 auctions held compared with 1,414 the previous week. Compared with the same week last year (3,236 auctions), auction volumes were 42.2% lower.

Most of the weekly increase in auction volumes came from Melbourne, which held 831 auctions, 67.9% more than the 495 of the previous week. That said, vendors in Melbourne appear to have brought auctions forward ahead of the Melbourne Cup Day. Melbourne's clearance rate eased 1.5 percentage points to 50.2%, the highest of the capital cities. Sydney’s clearance rate fell 8.7 percentage points to 41.7%, despite more homes going under the hammer, with auction numbers up 9.3% to 623.

Fewer than half the homes taken to auction sold in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra. Brisbane had the lowest rate at 26.3%, down from 29.6% a week earlier, even as auction numbers increased 24.4% to 199. In Adelaide, the clearance rate eased to 35.3% from 35.5%, with 139 auctions held, an increase of 14.9% on 121. The steepest weekly fall in clearance rates was in Canberra, where the clearance rate decreased by 16.3 percentage points to 46.7% from 63.0%, across 60 auctions compared with 54. Perth was the only capital to see a higher clearance rate, with nine of its 19 auctions selling, compared with five of 13 the previous week. Tasmania held no auctions, after one the previous week.  

Even this year’s February peak (66.4%) fell short of the 66.7% clearance rate seen in the same week last year with last week’s clearance rate 23.1 percentage points below that level. Every capital that held auctions last week had a lower clearance rate than a year earlier. The largest annual declines in clearance rates were in Brisbane and Adelaide, where clearance rates fell to 26.3% and 35.3%, respectively, from 65.4% and 73.6% a year earlier. Sydney's clearance rate has fallen to 41.7% from 65.3% a year earlier, and Melbourne's to 50.2% from 67.4%. The annual falls were less pronounced in Canberra and Perth, where clearance rates were 46.7% and 47.4%, down from 61.1% and 58.8% respectively. Tasmania held no auctions last week, leaving no clearance rate to compare.

Melbourne and Sydney accounted for almost all of the annual decline in capital city auction volumes, with 1,339 fewer auctions between them out of a total fall of 1,365. Melbourne held 831 auctions, less than half the 1,836 held a year earlier, while Sydney’s volume fell 34.9%, from 957 to 623. Brisbane and Perth were the only capitals to see increases, with 11 and two more auctions respectively.  Auction volumes fell by 30 in Canberra, five in Adelaide and four in Tasmania.

Auction Market Preview – week ending 1 November 2026

Spring auction activity remains subdued across the capital cities

The spring auction market has eased this week, with 1,793 homes scheduled for auction across the combined capitals. Auction volumes are expected to be 4.2% lower than the 1,871 auctions held last week and 15.0% lower than the 2,109 held in the same week last year.

Auction volumes in Melbourne are set to fall 42.6% from last week, with 477 auctions currently scheduled, down from 831. The lower volume can be attributed to the Melbourne Cup Carnival which begins on Saturday. Compared with the same week last year, when 502 auctions were held, Melbourne’s auction volumes have eased 5.0%. Sydney is the larger of the two markets this week, as it was a year ago, with 817 homes scheduled for auction. Week on week, Sydney auction volumes are expected to rise 31.1% from 623, although they remain 25.3% lower than the 1,094 held in the same week last year.

Across the smaller capitals, auction volumes are higher than last week in each market. Brisbane has the most auctions scheduled, with 234, an increase of 17.6% on last week (199) and 8.8% more than a year ago (215). In Adelaide, auction volumes lifted 8.6% to 151 from 139 last week and are 4.9% higher than the 144 held in the same week last year. The largest week-on-week percentage increase among the mainland capitals is in Canberra, where 87 auctions are scheduled compared with 60 last week, a rise of 45.0%. A year ago, Canberra held 132 auctions, and auction volumes there remain 34.1% lower. There are 24 auctions scheduled in Perth, compared with 19 last week and 21 a year ago, while Tasmania has three, after none last week and one a year ago.  

Apart from Melbourne, every capital has more auctions scheduled than last week. The other six capitals added a combined 276 auctions, not enough to offset Melbourne's fall of 354, which suggests the national week-on-week decline is associated with the Melbourne Cup Carnival rather than a pullback by vendors. Three of the seven capitals have fewer auctions scheduled than in the same week last year. Sydney accounts for most of the national year-on-year shortfall of 316, with 277 fewer auctions, followed by Canberra (45 fewer) and Melbourne (25 fewer). Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Tasmania each have more auctions scheduled than a year ago.

Cotality estimates more than 1,800 homes will go under the hammer next week, compared with 1,793 this week.