Sydney and Melbourne preliminary clearance rates hold at COVID lows

The preliminary auction clearance rate recorded a subtle rise last week to 49.2%, up from 47.4% the previous week. This marks the second consecutive week in which the preliminary clearance rate has remained below 50%. Given that the gap between preliminary and final results has averaged 5.0 percentage points over the past four weeks, the final clearance rate is expected to settle in the low 40% range again.

Adelaide and Brisbane contributed positively to the national result, with preliminary clearance rates rising in both cities. Melbourne and Sydney experienced slight declines, but the broader uplift came from outside the two biggest auction markets.

Not every property scheduled for auction made it under the hammer last week. Roughly one in five auctions was withdrawn, 21.5% to be precise, down from 23.6% the previous week. Among those that proceeded successfully, two in five sold before the auction even began, with pre-auction sales accounting for 41.3% of results.

Across the combined capitals, auction volumes continued to decline, with 1,771 homes taken to auction last week, representing a 5.8% decrease from the previous week and a 13.4% decline compared to the same period last year. Although auction volumes were ahead of 2025 levels for most of the year, they have remained consistently lower year on year since mid-May. This trend shows that vendors appear to be holding off on listing in response to persistently weak clearance rates.

Adelaide varied from the national trend. Auction volumes rose 23.7 percentage points to 115, nearly 28% higher than the same period last year, and the preliminary clearance rate rose to 68.7%, the strongest early result in five weeks.

Melbourne accounted for the majority of auction activity, with 815 homes auctioned, down 11.5% on the previous week and 15.3% on the same week last year. The city's preliminary clearance rate slipped to 50.2% from 50.6%, its softest early outcome since early September 2021, when Melbourne was in its sixth period of strict lockdowns.

Sydney's preliminary clearance rate remained relatively stable, decreasing by 0.1 percentage points to 47.3%. This represents the weakest early result since the week ending 19 April 2020. A total of 642 auctions were held across the city, consistent with the previous week but 16.7% lower than the same period last year.

Across Brisbane's 139 auctions, 39.3% reported a successful outcome, a 6.0 percentage-point lift on the previous week, but still the lowest preliminary clearance rate of any capital city. Volumes were 3.5% lower than the previous week and 1.4% down on a year earlier. Among the smaller capitals, Canberra hosted 47 auctions with 39.5% successful, Perth recorded 13 with four sold, and Tasmania held none.

Around 1,800 auctions are scheduled this week, a modest step up, before volumes reduce to roughly 1,540 the week after.