Final Clearance Rates – week ending 9 August 2026

Final Clearance Rates – week ending 9 August 2026

Clearance rate lifts to a 12-week high of 51.4% but remains well below last year

There were 1,382 auctions held across the capital cities last week, up 9.9% on the 1,257 held the previous week. Volumes were 12.9% below the 1,587 held in the same week last year.

The weighted average clearance rate finalised at 51.4%, its highest result in twelve weeks, up 2.5 percentage points from the previous week's 48.9%. Additionally, clearance rates improved even though more homes went to auction in most of the capital cities.

Melbourne's clearance rate finalised at 56.8%, the highest since 3 May, rising from 54.7% the previous week. This increase came with a 17.9% rise in auction volume, from 559 to 659 auctions. In Sydney, 412 homes were auctioned, up from 406, with a clearance rate of 51.5% compared to 45.6% previously. This 5.9 percentage point increase was the largest among all capital cities.

Brisbane held the most auctions among the smaller markets, up 18.4% to 161 from 136 the week before. Despite more homes up for auction, its clearance rate was 35.4%, down from 37.5% and the lowest of any capital this week with a large enough volume.

In Adelaide, 94 auctions were held, up about 2.2% from 92 the week before. Adelaide's clearance rate rose to 46.8%, from 45.7%. Canberra's volume fell 11.3% to 47 auctions from 53, though its clearance rate improved to 46.8% from 43.4%. Perth held only nine auctions, one fewer than the previous week; two sold, resulting in a clearance rate of 22.2% compared to 70.0%. No auctions were held in Tasmania.

Relative to the same week in the previous year, the weighted average clearance rate has declined significantly, falling by 17.3 percentage points from 68.7%.  

Sydney's clearance rate fell by 19.0 percentage points from 70.5%, while Melbourne's fell by 11.8 percentage points from 68.6%. The falls were steeper in the smaller capitals, with Canberra down 28.6 percentage points, Adelaide down 23.9, and Brisbane down 23.5. In terms of auction volumes, Brisbane was the only capital to increase activity compared to a year ago, rising 29.8% from 124 auctions.

Auction Market Preview – week ending 16 August 2026

Auction volumes ease this week and remain significantly below last year's levels

There are approximately 1,323 homes scheduled for auction across the capital cities this week. This is 4.3% fewer than the 1,382 held last week and 31.1% below the 1,921 held in the same week last year.

The fall from last week is small and consistent with auction volumes over recent weeks. The larger gap is to a year ago. Apart from Adelaide and Brisbane, every capital has fewer auctions scheduled than it did last August, and most of the shortfall is in Melbourne and Sydney, pointing to lower vendor activity in the two largest markets, rather than a one-week change.

Melbourne remains the busiest market, with roughly 565 auctions scheduled. That is down 14.3% on last week's 659, and 39.4% below the 932 held a year ago. Sydney is the only capital with more auctions than last week. Its 474 scheduled auctions are up 15.0% on last week's 412, but still 32.8% below the 705 held a year ago.

Auction volumes are also lower in the smaller markets this week. Brisbane has 146 auctions scheduled, a 9.3% decrease from last week's 161 but 7.4% higher than the 136 held a year ago. Adelaide has 87 auctions, down 7.4% from last week's 94 and 2.4% above last year's 85.

Canberra has 42 homes scheduled for auction, down 10.6% from last week's 47 and 17.6% below last year's 51. Perth has nine auctions, unchanged from last week and 18.2% lower than last year's 11. Tasmania has no auctions scheduled, consistent with last week and compared to one auction at this time last year.

Cotality expects auction volumes to rise over the next fortnight, with about 1,390 homes scheduled in each of the next two weeks, around 5% above this week’s volume. The subtle rise in volume suggests vendors are bringing more stock to market as spring approaches, even if volumes stay below where they were a year ago.