Australia's auction market has shown renewed strength, with the combined capital cities preliminary clearance rate climbing to 54.8% for the week ending 12 July — the strongest national early read in seven weeks after three consecutive weeks below the 50% mark.
Last week's preliminary figure of 49.8% has since been revised down to 46% once final results were tallied.
The improvement came despite a pullback in supply, with 1,318 homes taken to auction nationally, down 8.7% on the week and 8.0% lower than the same week last year.
According to Tim Lawless (pictured), Cotality's head of research for Asia Pacific, this week's result is the highest early clearance rate in seven weeks, though the broader trend still points to a cooler market than the same time in 2025, when the combined capitals cleared 68%.
That resilience is notable given tight financing conditions: the RBA held rates at 4.35% in June after three hikes this year, though hawkish minutes left another rise on the table. The 29 July CPI print is the next test before the RBA's 11 August meeting.
Melbourne remained the busiest market with 585 auctions, roughly in line with the prior week, and its 56.2% clearance rate — up from 54.5% last week — was the highest preliminary result in four weeks.
Sydney posted an even sharper turnaround: its preliminary clearance rate lifted to 57.5%, its own highest in ten weeks and well up from the 47.3% low recorded two weeks earlier, even as volumes fell 18.7% both week-on-week and year-on-year to 452 auctions. The Sydney median auction price landed at $1,437,500, with houses fetching $1,750,000, per the Cotality data.
Smaller markets told a more mixed story. Brisbane's rebound was sharpest of all, jumping to 43% from a revised 23.5% the week before, on the back of a 25.5% annual rise in auction volumes. Adelaide (59.1%) and Canberra (44.9%) posted more modest week-on-week moves, while Perth and Tasmania again recorded too few auctions for a reliable read.
That city-by-city spread has direct implications for how brokers frame client expectations. Units are clearing more strongly than houses in most markets — 59.2% versus 53.3% nationally — which may suit first-home buyers and investors weighing entry points ahead of spring listings.
The big four remain split: Westpac forecasts another hike, NAB expects a cut, and ANZ and CBA expect a hold into 2027. For clients weighing fixed versus variable terms, the CPI print may prove more decisive than this week's auction data.
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