Auction clearance rates soften as buyers await RBA decision
Australia’s auction market entered the spring selling season with softer clearance rates and rising stock, as buyers weighed falling property prices against the possibility of another interest rate increase.
Preliminary Cotality figures showed 52.4 per cent of capital-city auctions were successful, down from 53.2 per cent a week earlier. The previous week’s result was later revised to 48.2 per cent once all auction outcomes were reported.
Listings are also beginning to build. Auction volumes rose 6.6 per cent to 1482 across the capital cities, while about 1500 homes were scheduled to go under the hammer in the first week of spring and more than 1600 were pencilled in for the following week.
Cotality research director Tim Lawless said the seasonal lift in auction activity would provide a timely test of buyer demand.
Rate uncertainty weighs on buyers
The softer auction result comes as Sydney and Melbourne remain in a property downturn and buyers consider the possibility of a fourth interest rate rise this year.
The report said stronger-than-expected inflation figures released the previous week had increased speculation that the Reserve Bank could raise rates at its September board meeting.
Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said higher inflation and renewed discussion about interest rates had affected buyer confidence. Some purchasers were choosing to remain on the sidelines, while some sellers were shifting properties to private treaty rather than risk an unsuccessful auction.
SQM Research founder Louis Christopher said the properties moving away from auctions tended to be at the more affordable end of the market, leaving higher-quality stock in the auction channel. He also said vendors had been adjusting prices lower and that the apparent floor in clearance rates would be tested as September auction volumes increased.
Sydney and Melbourne clearance rates edge lower
Melbourne recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 54.9 per cent, down from 55.4 per cent a week earlier. Sydney’s early success rate eased marginally to 56.3 per cent.
Brisbane’s preliminary rate fell to 31.3 per cent, while Adelaide recorded 50.8 per cent and the ACT 41.7 per cent.
Despite the expected spring increase in listings, auction volumes remain well below last year. Capital-city auction numbers were down 32.3 per cent from the corresponding week a year earlier, according to Cotality.
That weaker trend was evident throughout winter, when capital-city auction volumes finished the season 18 per cent below the previous winter. The slowdown was concentrated in Sydney, Melbourne and the ACT, while activity increased in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane.
Not every property struggled to attract bidders. A freestanding three-bedroom house at 66 Brighton Street in Petersham, in Sydney’s inner west, sold for $2.461 million, exceeding its $2.2 million reserve, according to BresicWhitney selling agent Frederico Fraga-Matos.
The coming weeks will provide a clearer indication of whether rising spring supply can attract enough buyers to stabilise clearance rates while the market continues to assess the outlook for interest rates.
SOURCE ATTRIBUTION:
Based on reporting by The Australian Financial Review, published 31 August 2026. Source: www.afr.com.
