For the week ending October 5, 2025, the combined capital city auction market in Australia will see activity remain below the 2,000 mark for the second consecutive week. There are 1,961 homes scheduled for auction across the combined capital cities, which is an increase from the 1,735 auctions held in the previous week. However, this volume is still relatively subdued, partly due to the impact of the Labour Day and King’s Birthday long weekends in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, and South Australia.
A review of the previous week, ending September 28, 2025, shows that the lower volume of 1,735 auctions was significantly influenced by the AFL Grand Final long weekend in Melbourne. This figure was a drop from 2,638 auctions the week before that and was also lower than the 1,836 auctions held during the same period last year. Accompanying this lower volume was a dip in the final clearance rate, which settled at 68.7% for the combined capitals. This was the lowest clearance rate recorded in seven weeks, falling from 71.6% the week prior, although it remained a significant improvement over the 60.6% success rate from the same week in the previous year.
The two largest auction markets, Melbourne and Sydney, are showing divergent trends for the upcoming week. Melbourne is set for a major rebound in activity, with 1,111 homes scheduled to go under the hammer. This is a substantial increase from the mere 224 auctions held during the AFL Grand Final long weekend and is comparable to the 1,095 auctions held at the same time last year. Last week, Melbourne’s clearance rate of 64.3% was the city’s lowest since late April, a notable drop from 71.6% the week before.
Conversely, Sydney’s auction volume is expected to decrease significantly. After a busy week with 1,164 auctions—the most since the lead-up to Easter—the number is set to drop to 557 this week. Last week, Sydney recorded a final clearance rate of 70.2%, slightly down from 71.7% the previous week but higher than the 60.9% from the same time last year.
Among the smaller capital cities, Brisbane is expected to be the most active market this week, with 148 homes scheduled for auction, a figure consistent with the previous week. Following Brisbane are Adelaide with 73 scheduled auctions (down from 78), and Canberra with 61 (down from 116). Perth is expecting a small increase, with 11 auctions scheduled compared to five last week, while Tasmania has no auctions scheduled for the second week in a row. Last week, Adelaide had the highest clearance rate among these cities at 74.4%, followed by Canberra at 64.7% and Brisbane at 63.9%.
Looking ahead, auction activity across the combined capitals is projected to rebound significantly, with 2,586 homes currently scheduled for auction next week, suggesting the current dip is temporary.