Volumes fall across most capital cities amid post-Easter lull
The auction market is showing signs of a seasonal slowdown, with 1,652 homes scheduled to go under the hammer across the capital cities this week.
Despite a slight increase from the 1,595 auctions held last week, volumes remain down 26.2% compared to the same week last year and are significantly lower than the pre-Easter spike of 3,066.
According to Kaytlin Ezzy (pictured above), economist at Cotality, the trend aligns with typical seasonal patterns. “Historically, auction numbers have been tepid in the weeks following Easter before ramping up towards the start of the spring selling season,” she said.
Sydney is set to lead the week’s auction market activity with 681 scheduled auctions, marking a 21.2% increase from the previous week. However, that figure remains well below the 773 homes auctioned over the same week in 2024.
In contrast, Melbourne is expecting a drop in activity, with 693 homes due to go under the hammer, down from 776 last week and far below the 1,104 recorded during the same period last year.
Among the smaller capitals, Adelaide will see the most auction activity, with 114 properties set to go under the hammer – a 32.6% rise from the previous week. Brisbane’s auction volumes are largely steady at 107, while Canberra will see a notable 18.5% weekly drop with 44 auctions scheduled. Perth and Tasmania remain quiet, with nine and four auctions respectively.
Looking ahead, auction levels are expected to remain subdued next week, with Cotality forecasting around 1,600 homes going to auction across the combined capitals.
Clearance rates edge higher despite softer volumes
The combined capital cities recorded 1,595 auctions last week – the lowest total for a non-holiday week since early February. The figure was higher than the 1,076 auctions held during the ANZAC Day long weekend but down 27.6% compared to the same week last year.
The overall clearance rate climbed to 63.1%, its strongest result in six weeks, up from 60.8% the previous week, with this week’s results likely to be impacted by the federal election, Ezzy pointed out.
Melbourne posted 776 auctions and achieved a clearance rate of 66.8%, the city’s highest since mid-February. Sydney, on the other hand, saw 562 homes auctioned with a clearance rate of 62.5%, a slight decline from the prior week.
Among the smaller cities, Canberra had the highest clearance rate at 63.0%, jumping more than 16 percentage points week-on-week. Brisbane underperformed, with less than half of auctions clearing (48.1%), while Adelaide’s rate dipped to 53.3%, its lowest in 10 weeks. Eight of 13 auctions succeeded in Perth, while Tasmania saw no auction activity.
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