Final clearance rates - week ending 5 July 2026

Final Clearance Rates – week ending 5 July 2026

Capital city clearance rate holds below 50% for a sixth consecutive week

By Annabelle Mezieres, Economist, Cotality

A total of 1,443 auctions were held across the combined capital cities in the week ending 5 July 2026. This total was down 17.4% on the 1,748 held the previous week and 19.6% fewer than the 1,794 held in the same week last year. Most of this weekly drop came in Melbourne and Sydney, the country's two largest auction markets.

The weighted average clearance rate finalised at 46.0%, up 1.0 percentage point on the 45.0% recorded a week earlier Despite this small lift, the rate has now held below 50% for six weeks straight. With around four in five auctions taking place in Melbourne and Sydney, the national clearance rate is largely skewed to those two markets. Across the capitals, roughly 540 auctions were passed in and an approximate 230 were withdrawn, with Sydney recording roughly 120 withdrawals and Melbourne passing in 219 properties.

The weakness in clearance rates is not just a one-week story. The four-week average, which smooths out the weekly ups and downs, has dropped sharply since the start of 2026 and is now near its lowest in years. It is also well below where it sat in July last year.

Melbourne held 583 auctions, down 27.8% on the previous week and 24.0% fewer than a year ago, and had a clearance rate of 49.6%, up 3.0 percentage points on the week. Sydney was not far behind, with 556 auctions (down 11.9% on the week, down 18.8% on last year) clearing at 46.4%, an increase of 3.3 percentage points. Both capital cities improved slightly week-on-week, yet both remain well below year ago levels.

Among the smaller capitals, Brisbane stands out with its clearance rate finalised at 23.5%, the weakest reading since late April 2020. Of the 119 homes taken to auction, 77 were passed in, so close to two in three vendors did not find a buyer on the day. Auctions tend to make up a small share of Brisbane’s property market, so the clearance rate reflects only part of the market rather than the city. What it does suggest is that among those choosing to auction, buyers and vendors are a long way apart on price.

Adelaide’s clearance rates finalised at 45.5% from roughly 110 auctions, easing 7.9 percentage points on the week. Canberra was the clear outlier on the upside, lifting 11.1 percentage points to 52.4% from 63 auctions, the only capital to finish above the 50% mark. Perth held 10 auctions and cleared 44.4%, while Tasmania held none. Brisbane and Canberra aside, the rest of the capitals fall within the 40% range, so the week reads as broadly soft but stable rather than a sharp move in either direction.  

Auction activity tends to ease through the mid-winter of June and July, when fewer buyers and sellers are active, with activity rising again into spring. However, there is a stark contrast between current conditions and this time last year. At 46.0%, the weighted average clearance rate is 21.9 percentage points below the 67.9% of the same week in 2025, and volumes are close to a fifth lower than a year ago. This highlights the deterioration in housing market conditions across the past twelve months, as demand side pressures have built.

Auction Market Preview – week ending 12 July 2026

Auction volumes ease below last week and a year ago

By Annabelle Mezieres, Economist, Cotality

An estimated 1,358 homes are scheduled to go under the hammer across the capital cities this week, down 5.9% on last week's 1,443 auctions and 5.2% below the 1,432 held in the equivalent week a year ago. That makes it a second consecutive week of easing volumes and leaves activity a touch below where it sat this time last year.

Melbourne again leads the national total with 572 scheduled auctions, though that is 1.9% lower than last week (583) and 8.9% down on the 628 seen this week last year. Sydney follows on with 498 auctions, a steeper 10.4% fall on both measures, with last week and the same week in 2025 each recording 556.

Not every market is easing. Brisbane has 133 auctions on the slate, up 11.8% on last week (119) and 30.4% above the 102 held a year ago. Adelaide moves the other way with 85, down 24.1% week-on-week (112) but still 13.3% ahead of the 75 scheduled in the same week last year. Canberra is unchanged from a year ago at 60, easing 4.8% on last week's 63. Perth slips to 8 from 10 a week ago and 9 this time last year, while Tasmania lifts from none last week to two, matching year-ago levels.  

Beyond this week, the softening of auction activity looks set to continue, highlighting both seasonal and cyclical trends. Cotality estimates around 1,300 auctions next week, with roughly 1,200 scheduled for the week after.