Australia's residential real estate market is seeing a notably subdued spring selling season, with auction volumes significantly lower than last year. Data from property researcher Cotality indicates that around 1,600 homes were taken to auction across capital cities in the second week of the spring season, marking a 34% decrease compared to the same period in the previous year. This downturn in activity suggests a more cautious market as fewer vendors are choosing to list their homes for auction.
The beginning of the spring season also saw a sharp decline in auction numbers, with 1,431 auctions held across combined capital cities in the week ending September 6, 2026. This represents a 32.6% drop from the 2,122 auctions held a year prior. The national weighted average clearance rate for this period finalized at 49.3%, a decrease from 49.5% the previous week and a significant 20.7 percentage points lower than the 70.0% recorded in the same week last year. This marks the eleventh consecutive week where the clearance rate has remained below 50% for all but one week.
While some cities like Melbourne and Sydney saw slight improvements in clearance rates to 54.6% and 52.5% respectively, their auction volumes were still considerably lower year-on-year. Melbourne, for instance, had 676 auctions scheduled for the week, which is 45.5% less than the 1,240 held a year ago. Brisbane and Perth were exceptions, with increased auction volumes compared to last year, although they represent relatively smaller markets. The overall trend indicates that while listings are rising seasonally, fewer vendors are willing to test the auction market amidst concerns of potential interest rate increases by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
The weak clearance rates are primarily attributed to properties failing to sell under the hammer rather than vendors withdrawing prior to auction. According to Cotality economist Annabelle Mezieres, 480 homes were passed in at auction across combined capitals, almost double the 245 that were withdrawn. This suggests that vendors' price expectations continue to exceed buyers' willingness to pay in the current market. Experts warn that the recent boost in auction activity, with early numbers showing almost 60% of homes cleared in the week ending September 13, could be short-lived if further interest rate hikes materialize later in the year.
