Clearance rates jump higher after holiday

AFTER a week of softer auction clearances, the nation’s capitals bounced back with a healthy rise last weekend.

The capital cities recorded a solid 80.8 per cent bounce back in auction volume last week, following a week of softer activity as many states took a long weekend for the King’s Birthday.

Some 2124 capital city homes went under the hammer, a touch lower than the same week a year ago (-2.7 per cent), with this softer year-on-year trend evident for the fourth week running, according to property data experts Cotality.

And 54 per cent of capital city auctions recorded a positive outcome based on the results collected to date, a modest step higher from the 51.1 per cent seen two weeks ago.

Despite the rise, Cotality said this was the third week in a row where the preliminary clearance rate held below 55 per cent and nine of the past 11 weeks have seen the preliminary clearance rate tracking below 60 per cent.

Melbourne hosted 980 auctions last week, a 131 per cent jump from the previous week when 424 auctions were held. The preliminary clearance rate rose to 57.6 per cent (from 52.3 per cent the week prior).

Sydney saw 797 homes go under the hammer last week, a 64.3 per cent rise on the previous week, but 3.9 per cent lower than the same time a year ago.

The preliminary clearance rate nudged lower to 52.8 per cent, down from 52.9 per cent the week prior, Cotality said.

This was the third lowest preliminary clearance rate recorded so far this year and four out of the past five weeks have seen Sydney’s preliminary clearance rate hold below the 55 per cent mark.

In Brisbane, 144 auctions were held last week, a 6.7 per cent rise on the previous week and 13.4 per cent above the same time a year ago.

The 42 per cent preliminary clearance rate was a substantial improvement on the prior week’s 31.9 per cent, although it marked the fourth week running where the early clearance rate sat below 50 per cent.

Cotality said Adelaide held 110 auctions last week, a 39.2 per cent increase on the previous week but 9.1 per cent lower than a year ago.

Some 56.6 per cent of auctions recorded a successful result, down from 64.2 per cent the week prior, and the lowest preliminary clearance rate for Adelaide since June 2025.

There were 79 auctions held across the ACT last week, up 119 per cent on the previous week and 2.6 per cent higher than the same week a year ago. 45.6 per cent of auctions reported a successful result, down from 50 per cent the week prior.

This marked the ninth straight week where the ACT’s preliminary clearance rate held below 55 per cent.

Perth hosted 13 auctions last week, one less than the previous week, while just one auction was held in Tasmania last week, which was successful.

This week, Cotality is expecting around 1950 capital city homes to go to auction, reducing to approximately 1780 the following week. Auction volumes typically slow through the winter months.