By Caitlin Fono, Research Analyst, CoreLogic Australia

There are 1,790 capital city homes currently scheduled for auction this week, down -11.8% from last week when 2,030 auctions were held. Over the same week last year, 1,428 homes were taken to auction across the combined capitals. This is just the second time since the beginning of May that auction activity has fallen below 2,000.

Melbourne is set to see 673 homes taken to auction this week, down -24.0% from last week (886) and 17.9% higher than this time last year (571).

There are 803 auctions scheduled in Sydney this week, up 4.8% from last week when 766 auctions were held, and 41.6% higher than this week last year (567). Sydney and Perth are the only capital cities set to see an increase in auction activity week-on-week.

Across the smaller capitals, Adelaide is set to host the most auctions this week (143), compared to 147 last week and 101 this time last year. There are 119 auctions scheduled in Brisbane, compared to 159 last week and 105 last year, while Canberra is set to host 43 auctions, down from 65 last week and 72 this time last year. There are nine auctions scheduled in Perth, up from five last week although lower than this time last year (12). There are no auctions on the radar in Tasmania this week.

Just under 1,500 homes are currently scheduled for auction across the combined capitals next week which shows the winter slowdown is underway.

Summary of last week’s results
Last week saw 2,030 homes taken to auction across the combined capitals, down -5.6% from the previous week (2,150), although 31.6% higher than this time last year (1,543).

The combined capital city final clearance rate dipped to 63.0% last week, the second lowest final clearance rate so far this year behind the week ending 9th June (62.0%). Over the previous week, a clearance rate of 66.2% was recorded, while this time last year, 64.9% of capital city homes taken to auction were successful.

There were 766 homes taken to auction across Sydney last week, compared to 844 over the previous week and 676 this time last year. Sydney’s final clearance rate came in at 63.0% last week, down from 63.9% over the previous week, the lowest clearance rate so far this year. Over the same week last year, 67.2% of Sydney auctions were successful. 

In Melbourne, 886 homes were taken to auction last week, down from 975 over the previous week. Melbourne’s final clearance rate came in at 62.4% last week, -4.1 percentage points lower than the previous week (66.5%). Over the same week last year, 550 homes were taken to auction across the city and a clearance rate of 63.3% was recorded.

Brisbane (159) was the busiest auction market across the smaller capitals last week, followed by Adelaide (147) and Canberra (65). Adelaide (76.7%) recorded the highest clearance rate, followed by Brisbane (58.5%) and Canberra (56.3%). Just two of the five auctions in Perth last week were successful, while the two auctions in Tasmania were unsuccessful.