Clearance rates stumble back into 40s after 12-week high

According to Cotality, the weighted average final clearance rate across the capitals was 48.9 per cent, down 2.5 percentage points from the previous week’s 12-week high of 51.4 per cent.

The result was 20.9 percentage points below the 69.8 per cent recorded a year ago, with fewer than half of reported auctions resulting in a sale.

A total of 1,276 auctions were held across the combined capital cities, 7.7 per cent fewer than the 1,382 held the previous week, and 33.6 per cent fewer than the 1,921 held in the same week last year.

Melbourne’s clearance rate eased by 3.9 percentage points, from 56.8 per cent to 52.9 per cent, with 588 auctions held, down from 659 the week before.

Sydney’s clearance rate fell sharply, dropping 4.4 percentage points from 51.5 per cent to 47.1 per cent, with 412 auctions held, compared to 410 the previous week.

Cotality economist, Annabelle Mezieres, said affordability challenges, constrained borrowing capacity, cost-of-living pressures and federal policy changes continued to weigh on buyer activity.

“Melbourne and Sydney have been particularly sensitive to higher borrowing costs and weaker consumer sentiment,” she told REB.

Mezieres said both cities had seen fewer vendors bring homes to auction this year, with sellers opting to go through private treaty instead, leading to clearance rates being persistently lower.

“Overall, we have seen a decline in the share of properties being listed for auction (versus private treaty) over recent months,” she said.

According to Cotality, both Sydney and Melbourne were also well below the levels seen at the same time last year.

In the same week in 2025, Melbourne held 932 auctions, with a clearance rate of 69.1 per cent, while in Sydney, 705 auctions went under the hammer, with a success rate of 71.7 per cent.

Among the smaller capitals, Canberra had the highest clearance rate of any capital last week, at 53.5 per cent, across just 43 auctions.

In Adelaide, 51.2 per cent of homes sold under the hammer, up by 4.4 percentage points, with just 84 auctions held.

Brisbane’s clearance rate was 35.9 per cent, up 0.5 percentage points, but the city remained the weakest among the larger markets, with 142 auctions held.

Perth’s success rate lifted from 22.2 per cent to 33.3 per cent, despite just nine auctions being held, while Tasmania, again, held no auctions.

Of the 1,276 auctions held this week, 209 (16.4 per cent) were withdrawn, and 443 (34.7 per cent) were passed in, possibly contributing to a lower clearance rate.

Mezieres said the results still showed a gap between vendor pricing expectations and what buyers were willing to pay, with fewer than half of reported auctions ending in a sale.

“It helps to remember that the property itself has not changed, for example the house is in the same street/suburb, the schools and transport and shops around it are unchanged, and it is no less liveable than it was a year ago,” she said.

“What has changed is the current economic climate, higher servicing costs, weaker consumer confidence, and the budget changes to investor tax settings.”