Auction market plummets following tax shift

Treasurer Jim Chalmers made significant changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing, claiming the government took “the hard road of reform, not the path of least resistance.”

While the budget was designed to create a “fairer” path to home ownership, industry experts claimed that changes had created a market split into two clear segments: those who rushed to buy before the changes were announced and those who held back.

In total, 1,939 homes went under the hammer last week, an 11.1 per cent drop from the previous week, with clearance rates of just 57.5 per cent across the country.

Sydney’s preliminary clearance rate fell sharply, down 6.0 percentage points to 49.2 per cent, the weakest result since the early COVID-19 period in April 2020.

Auction volumes also declined in the NSW capital, declining by 14.9 per cent, with just 616 homes taken to market over the past week.

Melbourne was the most active of the capital city markets, with 906 homes going under the hammer, a 14.9 per cent drop on the week prior.

With a 61.4 per cent clearance rate, Melbourne fell to its fifth-lowest result for the year so far.

The Queensland capital, Brisbane, hosted 177 auctions over the week, an increase of 7.3 per cent over the previous week's results and 32 per cent compared to a year ago.

Just over half of the river city’s auctions achieved a sale under the hammer, boasting a clearance rate of 55.7 per cent, up from 53.7 per cent the week before.

Adelaide had 147 homes go under the hammer, a 41 per cent jump on last week's results, recording a strong clearance rate of 75.7 per cent.

Perth recorded 25 auctions last week, its highest weekly volume of 2026, with a clearance rate of 38.9 per cent, while Tasmania recorded zero auctions.

Despite the decrease in consumer confidence caused by the budget changes, an estimated 2,650 auctions are scheduled for the week ahead, with activity to rise above 3,000 in the following week.