If early indicators are anything to go by, the 2026 Australian property market is waking up with significantly more energy than it had at the close of last year. Against the expectations of many market watchers, the auction season has launched with surprising strength, signalling renewed confidence among buyers.

A Stronger-Than-Expected Start

The headline story for the week ending February 8, 2026, is the preliminary clearance rate. The combined capitals recorded a success rate of 73.7%. To put this in perspective, this is a significant rebound from the low 60% range recorded in mid-December and stands as the highest preliminary result since mid-October of last year.

This surge in successful sales comes despite—or perhaps because of—a slight softening in volume. There were 1,593 homes taken to auction across the combined capitals, a decrease of 0.6% from the previous week and 4.6% lower than the same time last year. It appears that while supply remains tight, buyer demand has sharpened to start the year.

Sydney Leads the Charge

Much of this early momentum is being driven by the Sydney market. The harbour city delivered a stunning preliminary clearance rate of 79.6%, the strongest early result since August 2025.

Unlike the national trend of lower volumes, Sydney actually saw a 31% uplift in activity, with 602 homes going under the hammer. This combination of rising volume and rising clearance rates suggests a robust depth of buyer demand in New South Wales.

A Tale of Two Cities: Melbourne vs. Sydney

While Sydney surged, Melbourne painted a slightly different picture. The Victorian capital was the busiest auction market with 638 homes listed. However, the clearance rate softened slightly to 67.9%, down from the previous week’s preliminary figure of 69.3%. While still a healthy result, it highlights a divergence between Australia’s two largest markets.

Smaller Capitals Punching Above Their Weight

Outside the big two, the smaller capital cities continue to perform exceptionally well:

• Adelaide: Continuing its streak of high performance, Adelaide returned another clearance rate above 80%, landing at 83.6% across 117 auctions.

• Brisbane: The river city hosted the most auctions among the smaller capitals (131) and achieved a solid 69.0% clearance rate.

• Canberra (ACT): Perhaps the biggest turnaround occurred in the ACT. After a sluggish previous week, the clearance rate bounced aggressively to 69.7%, up from a low of 39.8%.

• Perth: In the west, results remain positive with 75% of the 12 reported auctions achieving a sale.

What’s Next?

The market is set to be tested further in the coming weeks. Volume is projected to rise to approximately 2,050 auctions next week, followed by nearly 2,800 the week after. As supply increases, all eyes will be on whether these high clearance rates can hold firm.