Auction clearance rates across Australia’s capital cities have dropped, with only 48.4% of reported auctions successful last week. This figure represents a decline from the previous week’s rate of 51.2%. Notably, this marks the second consecutive week where auction volumes were more than 40% below last year’s levels, reflecting ongoing challenges in the market.
Clearance rates fell despite a rise in auction volumes. Last week, there were 1,882 auctions, marking a 33.1% increase from the week before. However, this total remains significantly lower than last year, with volumes down 41.8% compared to the same week in 2022. The rise in volumes was driven by increases in most cities, particularly Melbourne, which saw a 68% surge in auctions.
Melbourne saw a notable increase in auctions, rising 68% to 831, up from 495 the previous week. Yet, this figure is 54.7% fewer than the same week last year, partly due to softer selling conditions and the implementation of reserve price transparency rules. The city’s preliminary clearance rate also dipped slightly to 54.8%, down 1.4 percentage points and marginally below the spring-to-date average of 55.4%.
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In Sydney, the preliminary clearance rate fell below 50% for the first time in 12 weeks, reaching 48.2%, just above the recent low of 47.3% in June. The city hosted 631 auctions, a 10.7% increase from the previous week but 34.1% lower than last year.
Brisbane recorded the lowest clearance rate among the capitals at 25.2%, its fourth-lowest result this year. With 200 homes auctioned, volumes were 25.0% higher than the previous week and 6.4% above the same week last year, making it one of the few capitals with year-on-year growth. Adelaide saw 141 auctions, a 16.5% weekly increase but 2.1% fewer than last year. Its clearance rate of 42.5% was slightly below the spring average of 44.3%.
The ACT experienced a sharp drop in its clearance rate, falling 13.8 percentage points to 52.1%. Perth reported a 50% success rate from its 19 auctions. Notably, Tasmania did not hold any auctions last week.
