Auctions continue to slump after Budget – Macro Business

July 26, 2026

As of this weekend, the national final auction clearance rate had been stuck below 50% for eight consecutive weeks — the worst auction conditions since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Auctions continue to slump after Budget – Macro Business

Cotality’s preliminary auction results this weekend continued that trend, with the national preliminary clearance rate rising to just 52.4%, up 2.4 percentage points from last week’s 50.0%, which was revised up to 45.3% on final numbers.

Improvements in return rates help explain the lift in auction clearance rates. Withdrawn auctions rose to 24% of all scheduled auctions during the week ending June 21 but have since declined to 17.4% this week.

The withdrawal rate remains high compared to 2025, however, when an average of 11.8% of auctions were withdrawn.

The initial clearance rate in Melbourne slipped 1.9 percentage points to 54.6 per cent (from 56.5 per cent a week ago, reduced to 50.6 per cent once the finals were over). After falling to 50.2% during the week ending June 28, Melbourne’s initial clearance rate has remained in the mid-50% range over the past four weeks.

Sydney’s initial clearance rate rose to 56.1% this week, a solid bounce from the 47.4% recorded a week ago (revised to 42.4% once finalised). The initial clearance rate increased by 29.8% despite the withdrawal of scheduled auctions from the market. 63.4% of successful Sydney auctions sold before the house went under the hammer.

Brisbane’s preliminary clearance rate fell to 30.5 per cent this week, down 5.4 percentage points from a week ago and the second-lowest preliminary result so far this year. With such low preliminary results, Brisbane’s final pass rate is set to finish below the 40% mark for the ninth week in a row.