National auction volumes are edging up slightly this week as the spring selling season gets under way, but buyer resistance is pushing clearance rates below 50 per cent and leaving almost a third of properties passing in on the floor.
Across the capital cities, 1,485 homes are scheduled to go under the hammer this week, representing a modest 1.6 per cent increase on last week’s 1,462 listings. However, stock levels remain significantly constrained compared to the same period last year, running 30 per cent lower than the 2,122 auctions recorded in early September 2025.
“A total of 1,485 auctions are scheduled across the capital cities this week, slightly more than last week’s 1,462 and well below the 2,122 held in the equivalent week last year,” said Cotality economist Annabelle Mezieres.
“Auction volumes are up 1.6 per cent week on week and about 30.0 per cent lower than a year ago.”
Sydney is providing most of the week-on-week momentum, with scheduled auctions jumping 12.2 per cent to 571 homes.
“Most of the week-on-week lift comes from Sydney, where 571 auctions are scheduled, up an estimated 12.2 per cent on the 509 held last week but still roughly 21.2 per cent below the 725 scheduled a year ago,” Ms Mezieres noted.
Melbourne remains the nation’s largest auction market with 634 listings – a slight 1.6 per cent dip from last week – though its listing volumes have plummeted 41.6 per cent compared to a year ago, serving as the single largest contributor to the national shortfall.
“Melbourne remains the largest market at 634 auctions, little changed on last week and roughly 41.6 per cent below the 1,085 held in the same week last year, the biggest single contributor to the year-on-year shortfall,” Ms Mezieres said.
Looking ahead, Cotality projects scheduled volumes will continue to expand over the coming fortnight.
“Cotality estimates that scheduled auction volumes will rise over the following fortnight, with around 1,600 auctions expected in the week ending 13 September and about 1,700 in the week ending 20 September,” Ms Mezieres said.
Clearance rates point to price disconnect
The modest lift in supply comes as final performance results for the week ending August 30 highlight growing friction between vendor expectations and buyer demand. The combined capital city clearance rate edged up 1.3 percentage points to 49.5 per cent, down sharply from the 69.3 per cent clearance rate recorded in the same week last year.
With the national clearance rate hovering below the 50 per cent mark, unsold properties are increasingly failing to reach reserve on auction day rather than being pulled beforehand. Across the capitals, pass-ins accounted for 30.6 per cent of all auctions held last week, while withdrawals represented 19.9 per cent.
A clearance rate below 50 per cent suggests that properties reaching auction are not meeting reserve prices, with pass-ins accounting for a larger share of the unsold total than withdrawals.
The gap between price expectations is particularly pronounced across several capital city markets. Brisbane recorded the weakest performance of the major capitals, clearing just 27.4 per cent of its 146 auctions last week – a drop of 5.3 percentage points week-on-week.
Canberra cleared 40 per cent of its 50 auctions, while Adelaide recorded a clearance rate of 46.1 per cent across 102 events.
Adelaide remains the only capital scheduling more auctions than a year ago, with 98 homes listed this week compared to 84 in the equivalent week of 2025.
Premium Sydney pockets buck the trend
While broader market conditions remain soft, performance across Sydney and Melbourne sub-regions reveals a distinct split between high-demand coastal pockets and outer-ring suburbs.
Sydney recorded an overall clearance rate of 51.5 per cent across 509 auctions last week. However, premium and inner-ring sub-regions outperformed considerably:
- Sutherland: 66.7 per cent clearance rate
- Eastern Suburbs: 66.1 per cent clearance rate
- City and Inner South: 60.4 per cent clearance rate
- North Sydney and Hornsby: 55.2 per cent clearance rate
By contrast, outer Western Sydney sub-regions faced heavier buyer pushback. Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury recorded a clearance rate of just 21.1 per cent, while the South West cleared 30.4 per cent of properties.
In Melbourne, where the overall clearance rate reached 53.7 per cent across 644 auctions, results were more evenly spread. The South East led the city at 61 per cent, followed closely by the Mornington Peninsula (60 per cent) and the North West (58.9 per cent). Inner Melbourne recorded a clearance rate of 49.5 per cent across 105 auctions.
Smaller markets saw tight conditions, with Perth clearing six out of nine auctions last week (with 13 scheduled this week), and Tasmania clearing both of its two auctions held.
What the data means for agents and vendors
With stock levels expected to build toward 1,700 auctions per week by mid-September, the concentration of pass-ins indicates that bridging the gap between buyer price feedback and vendor reserves will be critical to maintaining campaign momentum.
Properties reaching auction day are attracting participation, but buyers are digging in on price. Agents navigating the spring ramp-up will need to establish realistic vendor expectations early in the campaign to prevent properties passing in on the floor as listing supply grows.
Market overview: capital city auction activity
City | Scheduled auctions (this week) | Last week’s auctions | Final clearance rate (last week) |
Melbourne | 634 | 644 | 53.7% |
Sydney | 571 | 509 | 51.5% |
Brisbane | 133 | 146 | 27.4% |
Adelaide | 98 | 102 | 46.1% |
Canberra | 35 | 50 | 40.0% |
Perth | 13 | 9 | n/a |
Tasmania | 1 | 2 | n/a |
Combined capitals | 1,485 | 1,462 | 49.5% |