Australian capitals gear up for busiest auction weekend since June

SOME 2,708 capital city homes are set to go under the hammer this weekend, making it the busiest weekend for auctions in Australia since June, property consultant Cotality said.

The figure represents the sixth busiest week of the year so far, Cotality, formerly CoreLogic, said in a statement.

Melbourne was set to see 1,109 homes go under the hammer, while in Sydney 1,167 auctions were scheduled – both stronger results than the same weekend last year.

In smaller capitals, Brisbane was set to host the busiest auction market with 205 homes to go under the hammer, followed by Adelaide where 108 auctions were scheduled.

Some 106 auctions were due to take place in Canberra, while Perth had 13 auctions on the radar. Tasmania was yet to schedule an auction for the weekend.

Looking ahead, Cotality said “next week is gearing up to be the busiest week of the year, with 3,220 homes currently scheduled for auction across the combined capitals”.

It said 1,732 of those auctions were expected to be held in Melbourne.

The forecast came as the property consultant said the total value of residential real estate in Australia now stood at $11.8 trillion, a lift of $678 billion over the past 12 months.

The uplift demonstrated the market’s resilience, it said, adding that national housing values were gaining momentum heading into the end of the year.

Values rose 2.2% over the September quarter, representing the largest quarterly increase since May 2024, Cotality said on Wednesday.

Looking forward, head of Australia research, Eliza Owen, said there remained uncertainty on timing of another cash rate reduction and how inflation would impact market momentum.

“However, if the property market were to continue at its current rate of growth, it’s possible the combined market value could hit $12 trillion by the end of the year,” Owen said.