Australia's auction market cooled this week even as the number of properties going under the hammer jumped sharply, with buyers turning more cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank's 29 September rate decision.
The preliminary combined capital city clearance rate fell 4.6 percentage points to 54%, according to Cotality, even as auction volumes rose 15.6% week-on-week to 1,832.
Cotality head of research Tim Lawless (pictured) noted that despite the softer result, "auction markets are continuing to beat the winter average of 52.3%."
This marked the sixth consecutive week that auction volumes have run more than 30% below year-earlier levels, reflecting both thinner spring listings and fewer vendors opting for auction as bidder registrations stay scarce.
Adelaide and Canberra moved against the grain this week. Adelaide's clearance rate climbed to 58.2% on the back of a 43% jump in volume, while Canberra's rate rose 10.6 percentage points to 57.5%, well above its winter average of 45.4%, even as its auction count held flat at 58.
By contrast, Melbourne and Sydney both softened. Melbourne hosted 900 auctions, or almost half the national total, up 26.8% on the previous week, though its success rate fell 7 percentage points to 56.3%, the lowest in three weeks. Volumes are set to fall sharply next week to around 280 auctions because of the AFL grand final long weekend.
Sydney recorded 577 auctions, up 5.3% weekly but still 36.9% below year-ago levels, while its result eased 5.4 percentage points to 54.2%, its weakest in seven weeks. Activity is expected to jump to roughly 935 auctions next week, which would be Sydney's busiest week since late May.
Brisbane's clearance rate slipped to 37.5%, down 4.1 percentage points on the week and broadly in line with its winter average of 37.2%.
Separately, real estate group Ray White's own network — which conducted roughly a third of this week's national auctions — recorded a 52.3% clearance rate, its best result since 8 August, with Sydney lifting to 61% as spring selling gathered pace.
Ray White CEO of performance and value Thomas McGlynn said "interest rates remain the major variable from here," cautioning that further hikes could delay a sustained recovery.
For brokers, the diverging state-by-state picture — alongside a fast-approaching RBA decision — reinforces that borrowing capacity and mortgage rate movements will remain central to client conversations heading into the final quarter.
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