Auctions slump to fresh low as home buyers walk away

Detailed summary

National auction clearance rates have fallen again to the lowest level since the COVID pandemic as Australia's housing market decline deepens.

Auction success rates have dropped to a fresh post-pandemic low as would-be home buyers sit on their hands in the falling property market.

Research group Cotality's latest results show clearance rates have continued to slide as the number of auctions rises nationwide.

The combined preliminary clearance rate across the capital cities fell to 44 per cent through the week, the weakest result since the early COVID-19 pandemic period of April 2020, the property data firm said on Sunday.

While the 1188 auctions held was an 11 per cent increase on the previous week, the number was still down more than 40 per cent on the same time in 2025.

Sydney's clearance rate dropped below half for the first time in spring, showing the slowdown is hitting Australia's most expensive market hard.

But there was an even sharper fall in Melbourne, where the clearance rate plummeted 11 percentage points to 47.8 per cent, the lowest mark since September 2021.

All five capital cities that recorded a preliminary clearance rate had falls, Cotality said.

Auction clearance rates are considered a key leading indicator for property prices with any result below 60 per cent pointing to a falling market.

The slump was indicative of a market hampered by rising interest rates in which buyers were facing little competition, even compared to six months ago, Ray White executive Thomas McGlynn said.

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