The Melbourne auction market is experiencing a significant surge in volumes in the lead-up to the annual Spring Carnival events. For the week ending October 26, 2025, Melbourne is scheduled to host 1,719 auctions, marking a crucial peak in activity before volumes temporarily decrease due to the major sporting event.
This substantial volume places Melbourne at the center of the national auction market, accounting for 53.1% of the total 3,237 homes scheduled for auction across all combined capital cities this week. This total combined capital volume represents the busiest week for the overall market since the lead-up to Easter last year (which saw 3,519 scheduled auctions).
The 1,719 homes scheduled for auction makes this Melbourne’s busiest week since the week prior to Easter 2024, when the city recorded 1,760 auctions. Furthermore, the current volume represents a dramatic week-on-week increase of 50.5% compared to the 1,142 auctions held the previous week (week ending October 19, 2025). The surge also indicates stronger year-on-year activity, with the current scheduled volume 2.6% higher than the 1,675 auctions held during the same period last year.
The Impact of the Melbourne Cup Carnival
The current high volume is directly linked to sellers maximizing opportunity ahead of the major disruption caused by the Melbourne Cup Carnival. The sources explicitly state that next week will see auction volume temporarily drop across the combined capitals to around 2,180 homes. This anticipated lower volume is attributed to the Melbourne Cup Carnival, which is set to begin on Saturday, November 1st.
The impact on Melbourne is severe, with fewer than 500 homes currently scheduled for auction across the city during the week affected by the Carnival.
Context from the Previous Week
Providing context for this surge, the prior week (ending October 19, 2025) saw 1,142 auctions held in Melbourne. This volume was down from 1,249 the week before but up compared to 1,098 auctions recorded this time last year.
Melbourne’s final clearance rate for that preceding week came in at 66.4%. This clearance rate reflected a decline of -2.2 percentage points from the previous week (68.6%). However, the 66.4% rate represents a strong improvement compared to the same time last year, when only 57.8% of reported auctions were successful. Of the total auctions last week, 1,137 results were collected, leading to 755 cleared auctions and 382 uncleared auctions.
A closer look at the market performance across Melbourne’s sub-regions for the week ending October 19, 2025, reveals significant internal variations. The Outer East sub-region recorded the highest success rate, with a clearance rate of 80.5% (based on 77 auctions). Conversely, the West sub-region recorded the lowest clearance rate at 57.6%, despite hosting 151 auctions. Other busy markets included the Inner sub-region (187 auctions, 64.5% clearance) and the North East (71.7% clearance).