Australia’s auction market attracted more sellers last week, but buyers remained cautious, with the preliminary capital city clearance rate falling to 53.2 per cent and home values continuing to decline.
A total of 1,406 homes went under the hammer across the combined capitals in the week ending 23 August, up 10.2 per cent from 1,276 a week earlier. Activity, however, remains substantially below last year, with auction numbers down 31.9 per cent from 2,066 at the same time in 2025.
Cotality economist Annabelle Mezieres said the preliminary clearance rate slipped from 56.5 per cent two weeks earlier, which had been the strongest early result in 12 weeks. Sydney was the only capital to record an improvement over the week.
The weaker clearance result comes as Cotality’s Home Value Index shows prices falling across every major capital measured in the report.
Sydney and Brisbane values fell 0.4 per cent over the latest week, while Melbourne and Adelaide declined 0.3 per cent and Perth slipped 0.2 per cent. Across the combined capitals, values were down 0.3 per cent for the week and 1.0 per cent over the month.
The annual picture remains sharply divided. Sydney values are 3.7 per cent lower than a year ago and Melbourne is down 4.0 per cent, while Brisbane remains 13.0 per cent higher, Adelaide 9.5 per cent higher and Perth 18.7 per cent higher. Combined capital city values remain 2.4 per cent above their level a year earlier despite the recent downturn.
Melbourne remained Australia’s busiest auction market, with 600 properties offered, up 2 per cent from the previous week. That was still 39.1 per cent fewer than a year earlier. Its preliminary clearance rate fell to 55.4 per cent, the weakest result in four weeks.
Conditions varied considerably across Melbourne.
The Outer East recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 75.7 per cent, followed by the South East at 64.9 per cent and North West at 58.2 per cent. Melbourne’s West was considerably softer at 48.1 per cent, while the Inner East recorded 47.7 per cent and North East 46.2 per cent.
Sydney provided the week’s only capital city improvement. Its preliminary clearance rate edged up from 55.6 per cent to 56.6 per cent as 482 homes went to auction, an increase of 17.6 per cent over the week.
But the result remains weak by recent historical standards. Sydney has now recorded a preliminary clearance rate below 60 per cent for 16 consecutive weeks, while auction numbers were 33.9 per cent lower than at the same time last year.
There were also substantial differences within Sydney. North Sydney and Hornsby recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 70 per cent, while Sutherland reached 66.7 per cent and the Inner South West 65.6 per cent. Ryde recorded 41.2 per cent and Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury 42.1 per cent.
Brisbane’s auction market was weaker. Of 153 homes scheduled for auction, preliminary results produced a clearance rate of just 40.4 per cent. Auction numbers were up 7.7 per cent for the week but remained 9.5 per cent below last year’s level.
Adelaide recorded a 54.8 per cent preliminary clearance rate from 92 auctions, while Canberra’s rate dropped sharply from 60 per cent to 41.4 per cent as auction numbers increased from 43 to 67. Perth held only 11 auctions, with two sales reported so far, while Tasmania’s sole scheduled auction was withdrawn.
The auction figures form only part of the emerging shift in the housing market.
Cotality’s listings data shows 83,995 properties advertised for sale across the combined capitals over the four weeks to 16 August, 23.8 per cent more than a year earlier. The number of newly listed properties, however, was 3.2 per cent lower, suggesting the rise in available stock is partly being driven by homes remaining on the market for longer.
The increase in total stock has been particularly pronounced in some of the previously stronger markets. Total listings were 44.1 per cent higher than a year ago in Brisbane, 40.9 per cent higher in Perth and 34.1 per cent higher in Adelaide. Melbourne’s total listings were up 18 per cent and Sydney’s 14.3 per cent.
Rental conditions remain considerably tighter.
The national median rent reached $708 in July, 5.9 per cent higher over the year. Across the capitals, the median was $741, also up 5.9 per cent annually. Perth rents increased 8.1 per cent over the year to a median $786, Brisbane rose 6.6 per cent to $740 and Melbourne increased 5.1 per cent to $646.
The combination leaves Australia’s property market increasingly split between softer conditions for buyers and continuing pressure on renters.
More homes are available for sale, capital city values are moving lower and barely half of reported capital city auctions are clearing. But rental supply remains constrained and rents continue to rise, leaving the housing slowdown far from uniform.
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