Sydney records second highest volume of auctions so far this year

The volume of capital city auctions stepped down to 1,760 last week, as Victorians enjoyed the AFL Grand Final long weekend. The 33.3% drop in auctions is on par with last year when the volume of auctions dropped 34.0%.

The combined capitals preliminary clearance rate also saw a sharp fall, from 77.9% the previous week (highest since Oct 2021) to 71.4% last week, which was the lowest preliminary clearance rate since the week ending June 15th.

Sydney recorded the most auctions last week, with 1,171 homes going under the hammer. This was a 28% lift on the week prior and the second highest volume of auctions so far this year, after the week prior to Easter when 1,282 homes went under the hammer. 73.5% of auctions have reported a successful result so far, down from 77.9% the week prior (revised to 71.7% once finalised).

Melbourne saw an 83% drop in auction numbers as the AFL Grand Final long weekend was underway. Only 230 homes went under the hammer, with the preliminary clearance rate falling to 64.6%, the lowest in 23 weeks.

In Brisbane, auction volume was down 12% week-on-week, with 151 homes taken to market. The preliminary clearance rate held reasonably firm at 66.1%, a slight rise from the previous week’s 65.6%.

There were 84 homes taken to auction in Adelaide last week, a 32% decrease relative to the week prior, with the preliminary clearance rate falling to 76.6% from 85.5% a week earlier.

Canberra was one of the few cities to record a rise in auction activity last week, with 119 homes going under the hammer, a 14% increase on the previous week. Of the auctions held, 67.5% have reported a successful result so far, down from 81.3% the week prior (revised down to 76.0% on final numbers).

There were just five auctions held in Perth last week, three of which have been reported as successful so far, while there were no auctions in Tasmania last week.

Auction numbers are set to partially bounce back this week, with around 1,975 homes scheduled to go under the hammer (although Sydney auctions are set to be impacted by the NRL Grand Final), rising to around 2,600 next week.

Download the full Property Market Indicator - week ending 29 September  2025