Clearance rates hold steady despite higher volumes
Auction activity is climbing across Australia’s capital cities, with 2,094 homes scheduled to go under the hammer this week, according to new data from property research firm Cotality.
This week’s figure is slightly up from 2,004 last week and 2,030 in the same period last year.
Melbourne is set to lead in auction volume, with 950 homes listed this week – an increase from 927 last week and 886 a year ago. Sydney follows with 813 scheduled auctions, rising from 778 last week and 766 the same time last year.
Among the smaller capitals, Brisbane is expecting a slight decline in auction activity, down to 143 from 152 the previous week. Adelaide, Canberra and Perth, however, are all forecast to see a pickup, with 109, 66 and 11 auctions scheduled respectively – up from 77, 65 and five. Tasmania, which recorded no auction activity in the past three weeks, will see two auctions this week.
Cotality research analyst Caitlin Fono (pictured) said auction volumes are expected to ease in the coming week. “Auction activity is expected to fall next week, with around 1,750 homes scheduled for auction across the combined capitals,” she said.
Last week, 2,004 homes went to auction across the combined capital cities, down from 2,183 the week prior and 2,150 during the same week in 2024. Despite the decline in volume, clearance rates remained relatively stable.
The combined capital clearance rate edged up by 10 basis points to 65.3%, slightly above the prior week’s 65.2%. According to Cotality, this marks the second-highest final clearance rate recorded this year. In the same period last year, the clearance rate was 66.2%.
Melbourne hosted 927 auctions last week, down from 1,018 the week before. The city posted a final clearance rate of 65.6%, up marginally from 65.4% the week prior, but slightly lower than the 66.5% recorded one year ago.
Sydney recorded a clearance rate of 67.6% from 778 auctions – its highest level since July 2024. That result represents a 2.1-percentage-point improvement on the previous week’s 65.5%, and a notable jump from 63.9% during the same week last year.
In the smaller capitals, Brisbane remained the most active with 152 auctions, followed by Adelaide with 77 and Canberra with 65. Adelaide achieved the highest clearance rate at 67.5%, ahead of Canberra (56.9%) and Brisbane (55.6%). Perth held just five auctions last week, with two resulting in successful sales. No auctions were held in Tasmania.
“The combined capital city clearance rate rose 10 basis points to 65.3% last week – overtaking the previous week as the second highest final clearance rate so far this year,” Fono said.
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