The Australian property market recently navigated its busiest auction week since March 2024, a surge in volume that appears to have slightly dampened the overall preliminary clearance rate across the combined capital cities.
Record Volume Meets Resistance
Last week saw 3,258 capital city homes taken to auction, representing the highest weekly volume recorded since March 2024. This substantial influx of stock marked a 5.8% increase from the 3,068 homes auctioned the week prior and was 12.4% higher than the 2,898 auctions held during the same period last year.
Despite this elevated transaction volume, the combined capital city preliminary clearance rate came in at 70.0%. This result represents a slight dip from the previous week’s preliminary rate of 71.8%. Furthermore, the preliminary clearance rate has remained below the 75.0% mark for the eighth consecutive week. The final clearance figures often revise lower than the preliminary rates; for instance, the previous week’s 71.8% preliminary rate ultimately revised down to 65.9%.
City-Specific Trends: Melbourne and Sydney
The two largest markets, Melbourne and Sydney, contributed significantly to the national volume, but their preliminary success rates showed diverging trends:
Melbourne hosted its third-busiest auction week of the year, with 1,484 homes going under the hammer, an increase from 1,388 the week before. Melbourne’s early success rate experienced a clear slip, coming in at 70.5%. This figure was down 2.3 percentage points from the 72.8% preliminary rate recorded the week prior.
In contrast, Sydney saw 1,253 auctions held, marking the city’s second-busiest auction week of the year so far. Although Sydney also contributed heavily to the high stock volume, its preliminary clearance rate ran counter to the national dip, coming in at 70.8%. This 70.8% result was Sydney’s strongest early result in four weeks. However, market participants remain wary of revisions, as the previous week’s 70.0% preliminary rate in Sydney revised down significantly to 64.5% at final numbers.
Dip Reflected in Smaller Capitals
The trend of preliminary clearance rates slipping amidst high activity was also evident in several smaller capitals:
Adelaide hosted 154 auctions, making it its busiest auction week of the year so far. However, its preliminary clearance rate slipped to 67.7%, which was its lowest preliminary result recorded in 15 weeks.
Similarly, Brisbane saw 215 homes auctioned. Its preliminary clearance rate landed at 71.8%, representing Brisbane’s lowest preliminary success rate in four weeks.
The ACT (Canberra) also experienced a high-volume week with 140 auctions, the highest weekly total since December 2023. Its preliminary clearance rate dropped to 59.3%, down from 63.8% the week prior.
In essence, while the high volume of auctions (3,258 combined capitals) signals strong activity and seller confidence, the general softening of the preliminary clearance rate to 70.0% suggests that the market’s capacity to absorb the significant influx of new stock is being tested, leading to a general downward pressure on immediate success rates. This dynamic demonstrates the delicate balance between supply and demand, where a sharp rise in listings can marginally dilute immediate competition and successful sales outcomes.