The Australian auction market is poised for its busiest week of the year so far, with activity ramping up significantly across the major capitals. Data released by Cotality indicates that buyer appetite is being tested as vendors return to the market in force.

Volume Spikes Across the Capitals

For the week ending 15 February 2026, 2,045 capital city homes are scheduled to go under the hammer. This represents a substantial 29.1% increase on the previous week’s 1,584 auctions, and a 7.2% rise compared to the same time last year.

The surge in activity is driven largely by the two biggest markets. Sydney is set to host 851 auctions this week, a sharp 41.1% increase from last week and 11% higher than one year ago. Melbourne follows closely with 785 scheduled auctions, up 25.2% week-on-week.

Activity is also lifting across the smaller capitals. Brisbane remains the busiest of these markets with 163 homes scheduled, followed by Adelaide with 127 and Canberra with 97. The momentum shows no signs of slowing, with Cotality forecasting that activity will continue to rise, projecting around 2,800 homes for auction next week.

Sydney Outperforms as Melbourne Softens

The influx of new listings comes off the back of a steady performance for the combined capitals, which recorded a final clearance rate of 66.1% last week. While this was a marginal dip of 30 basis points from the previous week, it remains 1.9 percentage points higher than the same time last year.

However, a divergence is emerging between the two major cities.

Sydney is currently the standout performer. Last week, the harbour city recorded a clearance rate of 70.8%, the strongest result since the week ending 21 September 2025. This strong buyer demand was even more pronounced in premium pockets; the ‘City and Inner South’ region achieved a striking 83.6% clearance rate, while the Eastern Suburbs followed with 82.5%.

In contrast, Melbourne’s market appeared slightly softer. The city recorded a clearance rate of 60.1% last week, down from 63.7% the week prior.

Mixed Results in Smaller Markets

Outside the big two, performance was mixed. Adelaide continues to demonstrate resilience with a clearance rate of 78.0%, although this was down from the dizzying heights of 83.9% the previous week.

Brisbane recorded a 67.9% success rate, while Canberra trailed with 58.7%, dropping from 64.9% the week prior. In Perth, low volumes resulted in a 66.7% clearance rate from just 12 auctions.

As inventory levels climb toward that 2,800-home mark next week, all eyes will be on whether buyer depth—particularly in Sydney—can sustain these clearance rates against increased supply.