Clearance rates edge higher, but remain below last year’s levels
Auction activity across Australia’s major capital cities is expected to rise this week, led by Sydney and Melbourne, according to weekly figures from data and analytics provider Cotality.
Across the combined capitals, 2,913 homes are scheduled to go to auction this week. That is 4.4% higher than last week’s 2,790, and 22% above the same week a year ago, when 2,388 properties were listed for auction.
Melbourne is set to remain the busiest market. Cotality data shows 1,361 homes are due to be auctioned in Victoria’s capital this week, up from 1,329 last week and above the 1,221 recorded in the comparable week last year.
Sydney is also expected to record a weekly increase, with 1,118 auctions scheduled. That compares with 984 last week and 810 at the same time last year.
“Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne are set to see an increase in auction activity this week, while fewer auctions are scheduled across Adelaide, Canberra and Perth week-on-week,” said Gerard Burg (pictured right), head of research at Cotality.”
Among the smaller capitals, Brisbane leads, with 197 auctions currently scheduled, compared with 188 last week. Adelaide is expected to ease, with 131 auctions listed, down from 152.
Auction listings in Canberra is also lower at 90, from 119 the previous week. In Perth, 15 auctions are scheduled, down from 17. Tasmania again has one auction on the calendar.
Last week’s auction volumes across the capitals totalled 2,790, up from 1,813 the week before and above the 2,472 recorded a year earlier. Cotality attributed the earlier dip to a public holiday long weekend affecting four states and territories.
Clearance rates improved slightly after a run of weekly declines. “There was a slight improvement in the combined capital city clearance rate after falling for five consecutive weeks, coming in at 58.5% last week, up 60 basis points on the previous week (57.9%),” Burg said.
“While up week-on-week, it is the second lowest clearance rate so far this year. Over the same week last year, 63.0% of reported auctions were successful.”
Source: Cotality
In Melbourne, 1,329 homes went under the hammer last week. That was higher than the 570 auctions in the prior week, which included the Labour Day long weekend, and above the 1,192 auctions held in the same week last year. Melbourne’s clearance rate was 58.4%, following 52.6% the week before, which Cotality said was the lowest result since Easter 2023. A year ago, Melbourne recorded a 63.8% clearance rate.
Sydney held 984 auctions last week, compared with 942 the week before and 893 a year earlier. The city’s final clearance rate fell to 56.1%, described by Cotality as its lowest outcome so far this year. The prior week recorded 58.6%, while the same week last year came in at 64.3%.
In the other capitals, Brisbane held 188 auctions, up from 125 the week before. Adelaide recorded 152 auctions, up from 107. Canberra rose to 119 from 55, while Perth increased to 17 from 14. Tasmania recorded one auction, which was unsuccessful.
Clearance results across the smaller markets were mixed. Adelaide posted the highest rate at 80.3%, the strongest in three weeks, and above 72.9% the previous week. Perth recorded 70.6%, up from 64.3%, though Cotality noted that low volumes can produce volatile results.
Brisbane recorded 55.9%, its lowest clearance rate of the year, down from 63.2%. Canberra also recorded its lowest result for the year at 53.8%, compared with 56.4% the week before.
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