Final Clearance Rates – week ending 30 August 2026

Final Clearance Rates – week ending 30 August 2026

Clearance rate edges up to 49.5% as auction volumes lift, however, both remain well below year-ago levels

The volume of auctions held last week was up from 1,390 the week before, but well down from 2,190 held in the same week last year. Auction volumes were 5.2% higher than the previous week and 33.2% lower than a year ago.

The weighted average final clearance rate was 49.5%, up 1.3 percentage points from 48.2% the previous week. A year ago, the combined capitals cleared 69.3%, so the clearance rate is 19.8 percentage points lower than the same week in 2025.

Melbourne recorded a clearance rate of 53.7%, an increase from 51.9% in the previous week, across 644 auctions, which is 50 more than the prior week. Sydney's final clearance rate was 51.5%, up 1.2 percentage points from 50.3%, with 509 auctions held compared to 477 previously. Compared with the same week in 2025, auction volumes in both cities were well down, with 438 fewer auctions in Melbourne and 301 fewer in Sydney.

Adelaide held 102 auctions, 12 more than the previous week, and its clearance rate was 46.1%, down 0.6 percentage points from 46.7%. Brisbane's clearance rate was the weakest of the capital cities at 27.4%, down roughly 5.3 percentage points from 32.7%, across 146 auctions compared with 151. The steepest fall in auction volumes was in Canberra, down 16 to 50, with a clearance rate of 40.0%, down 0.9 percentage points from the previous week. Six of Perth's nine auctions sold, compared with three of 11 a week earlier, while only two auctions were held in Tasmania; both were successful.

Of the auctions that did not sell, more passed in than were withdrawn. Across the combined capitals, 448 properties passed in at auction, against 291 withdrawn before auction, so pass-ins accounted for 30.6% of all auctions held and withdrawals 19.9%. A clearance rate below 50% suggests that properties reaching auction are not meeting reserve prices, with pass-ins accounting for a larger share of the unsold total than withdrawals.

‍

Auction Market Preview – week ending 6 September 2026

More than 1,400 auctions scheduled again this week

A total of 1,485 auctions are scheduled across the capital cities this week, slightly more than last week's 1,462 and well below the 2,122 held in the equivalent week last year. Auction volumes are up 1.6% week on week and about 30.0% lower than a year ago.

Most of the week-on-week lift comes from Sydney, where 571 auctions are scheduled, up an estimated 12.2% on the 509 held last week but still roughly 21.2% below the 725 scheduled a year ago. Melbourne remains the largest market at 634 auctions, little changed on last week (644, down 1.6%) and roughly 41.6% below the 1,085 held in the same week last year, the biggest single contributor to the year-on-year shortfall.

Among the mid-tier capitals, Adelaide is the only capital scheduling more auctions than a year ago, with 98 this week against 84 in the equivalent week of 2025, though that is down from 102 last week. A further 133 auctions are scheduled in Brisbane, 13 fewer than last week and approximately 7.6% below the 144 held a year ago. Just 35 auctions are scheduled in Canberra, down 30.0% on last week (50) and 50.0% below the 70 held a year ago.

Auction activity in Perth is rising, with 13 auctions scheduled this week against 9 last week, equalling the 13 held a year ago. Tasmania has one auction scheduled. Total auction volume has not changed significantly compared to last week, though the week-on-week change in auction volumes varies widely by capital city, with Sydney higher and Canberra lower.

Cotality estimates that scheduled auction volumes will rise over the following fortnight, with around 1,600 auctions expected in the week ending 13 September and about 1,700 in the week ending 20 September.