Preliminary clearance rate holds below 55% for third consecutive week

The combined capitals recorded a solid 80.8% bounce back in auction volume last week, following a week of softer activity as many states took a long weekend for the King's Birthday. 2,124 capital city homes went under the hammer, a touch lower than the same week a year ago (-2.7%), with this softer year-on-year trend evident for the fourth week running.

54.0% of capital city auctions recorded a positive outcome based on the results collected to date, a modest step higher from the 51.1% seen two weeks ago. Despite the rise, this was the third week in a row where the preliminary clearance rate held below 55%, and nine of the past eleven weeks have seen the preliminary clearance rate tracking below 60%.

Melbourne hosted 980 auctions last week, a 131% jump from the previous week when 424 auctions were held. The preliminary clearance rate rose to 57.6% (from 52.3% the week prior).

Sydney saw 797 homes go under the hammer last week, a 64.3% rise on the previous week but 3.9% lower than the same time a year ago. The preliminary clearance rate nudged lower to 52.8%, down from 52.9% the week prior. This was the third lowest preliminary clearance rate recorded so far this year, and four out of the past five weeks have seen Sydney's preliminary clearance rate hold below the 55% mark.

In Brisbane, 144 auctions were held last week, a 6.7% rise on the previous week and 13.4% above the same time a year ago. The 42.0% preliminary clearance rate was a substantial improvement on the prior week's 31.9%, although it marked the fourth week running where the early clearance rate sat below 50%.

Adelaide held 110 auctions last week, a 39.2% increase on the previous week but 9.1% lower than a year ago. 56.6% of auctions recorded a successful result, down from 64.2% the week prior, and the lowest preliminary clearance rate for Adelaide since June 2025.

There were 79 auctions held across the ACT last week, up 119% on the previous week and 2.6% higher than the same week a year ago. 45.6% of auctions reported a successful result, down from 50.0% the week prior. This marked the ninth straight week where the ACT's preliminary clearance rate held below 55%.

Perth hosted 13 auctions last week, one less than the previous week, while just one auction was held in Tasmania last week, which was successful.  

This week, Cotality is expecting around 1,950 capital city homes to go to auction, reducing to approximately 1,780 the following week. Auction volumes typically slow through the winter months.