Key takeaways:
Clearance rates remain below 50%. Cotality’s combined capital city auction clearance rate was 49.3% for the week ending 6 September.
Auction activity eased slightly. There were 1,431 auctions across the capitals, down 2.1% from the previous week and 32.6% from a year ago.
Pass-ins remain significant. Cotality recorded 480 homes passing in compared with 245 withdrawals, pointing to a gap between some seller expectations and buyer budgets.
Local conditions matter. Comparable sales, property type, stock and competition in your target suburb may tell you more than a city-wide auction clearance rate.
Know your borrowing power. Softer auction conditions do not necessarily make a property more affordable or increase how much you may be able to borrow.
For buyers heading into the spring property market, a softer auction clearance rate raises an obvious question: does it mean there may be more room to negotiate?
In some cases, perhaps. But the latest results also show why buyers need to look beyond the national number.
Cotality’s final results for the week ending 6 September 2026 show 1,431 auctions were held across the combined capital cities, 2.1% fewer than the previous week.
The weighted average clearance rate finished at 49.3%, down slightly from 49.5% the previous week. It has now remained below 50% for all but one of the past 11 weeks.
Conditions are also substantially softer than they were a year ago. The clearance rate was 70.0% in the equivalent week of 2025, while auction volumes were 32.6% higher.
That does not mean every buyer suddenly has greater negotiating power.
Competition may differ significantly by suburb, price point, property type and even from one auction to the next.
As Aussie Buyer’s Agent Amanda Baldacchino puts it:
“There are markets within markets, so you can’t speak too broadly.”
For buyers, that makes local research, combined with a clear understanding of their finance particularly important before raising a hand at auction.
What happened at auctions this week?
Cotality’s final auction results show 1,431 auctions were held across the combined capital cities in the week ending 6 September.
The weighted average clearance rate was 49.3%, slightly below the 49.5% recorded the previous week.
Capital city | Final clearance rate | Auctions |
|---|---|---|
Sydney | 52.5% | 501 |
Melbourne | 54.6% | 656 |
Brisbane | 26.0% | 131 |
Adelaide | 36.2% | 94 |
Canberra | 37.1% | 35 |
Perth | 30.8%* | 13 |
Tasmania | NA* | 1 |
Combined capitals | 49.3% | 1,431 |
Melbourne remained Australia’s largest auction market, followed by Sydney. Both recorded clearance rates above 50%.
Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra were substantially lower.
Across the capitals, 480 homes passed in, almost twice the 245 properties withdrawn before auction.
Cotality suggests the softer clearance rate was being driven more by properties failing to sell under the hammer than sellers withdrawing beforehand, with some vendors’ price expectations continuing to sit above buyers’ willingness to pay.
What does a clearance rate below 50% mean for buyers?
A clearance rate below 50% points to softer auction conditions, with a relatively high proportion of known properties not recording a sale.
It may indicate a gap between what some sellers expect and what buyers are prepared, or financially able to pay.
Independent economist Cameron Kusher says the performance of an auction market is closely tied to the depth of buyer demand:
“Auctions are usually most successful when you’ve got a lot of people looking to buy, and that’s how you get a really good price.”
For buyers, softer conditions may create more opportunities to negotiate after an auction, particularly when a property passes in.
But a city-wide clearance rate does not determine what will happen at an individual property.
A well-located home with several financially prepared bidders may still attract strong competition, even when the wider auction market is subdued.
What does a passed-in property mean for buyers?
If bidding does not reach the seller’s reserve, the property may be passed in rather than sold under the hammer.
That can open the door to post-auction negotiations, but it does not mean the seller has to accept a lower price.
Before negotiating, buyers may wish to consider:
recent comparable sales
how long similar properties are taking to sell
the number of competing buyers
the seller’s price expectations
their own maximum purchase budget.
Knowing your limit before negotiations begin may help you stay focused on what you can afford rather than simply what the seller is asking.
Sydney auction clearance rate rises to 52.5%
Sydney recorded 501 auctions in the week ending 6 September, down slightly from 509 the previous week.
Its final clearance rate strengthened from 51.5% to 52.5%, its highest result since late July.
However, conditions remain considerably softer than a year ago, when Sydney’s clearance rate was 72.5% for the equivalent week.
What does this mean for Sydney buyers?
For someone deciding how much to offer or bid in Sydney, the city-wide clearance rate provides market context — not a valuation.
Recent comparable sales in the same suburb may provide more useful evidence, particularly where the properties have a similar land size, number of bedrooms and condition.
Buyers may also want to monitor whether similar homes are:
selling before auction
selling under the hammer
passing in and selling later
remaining on the market for longer
having their asking price adjusted.
Baldacchino says buyers should also understand who the different professionals involved in a transaction represent:
“A buyer’s agent advocates on behalf of the buyer. Selling agents advocate for the seller, and they are paid by the seller.”
A buyer’s agent may help with property research, negotiation and auction bidding.
Melbourne remains Australia’s busiest auction market
Melbourne recorded 656 auctions, up 1.9% from 644 the previous week.
Its clearance rate strengthened to 54.6%, from 53.7%, its strongest result since 9 August.
Despite the improvement in clearance rates, auction volumes remain well below last year. Melbourne’s 656 auctions were 45.5% below the 1,204 held in the equivalent week of 2025.
For Melbourne buyers, that highlights an important distinction between overall market activity and conditions for an individual property.
A lower number of auctions does not necessarily mean fewer suitable properties are available in every suburb.
Likewise, a clearance rate above 50% does not mean buyers need to increase their budget or rush to purchase.
More useful questions include:
What have genuinely comparable homes sold for?
How much similar stock is available?
How quickly is it selling?
Are properties passing in?
How many financially prepared buyers are competing?
Brisbane shows why auction data needs local context
Brisbane recorded 131 auctions and a final clearance rate of 26.0%, down from 27.4% the previous week.
It was the lowest capital-city clearance rate reported by Cotality this week.
But that does not mean Brisbane’s entire property market has a 26% sales success rate.
Auctions represent a smaller part of property transactions in Brisbane than they do in Sydney and Melbourne, meaning private treaty sales and other local indicators provide important additional context.
Brisbane buyers may wish to look at:
recent comparable private sales
the number of properties available locally
new stock coming onto the market
days on market
seller discounting
asking-price changes.
The same caution applies to smaller auction markets.
Perth recorded just 13 auctions this week, while Tasmania had one. Small samples can produce large movements in weekly clearance rates and should not be read as a broad measure of the overall property market.
You might also be interested in: How do property auctions work? A buyer’s guide
Spring auction activity is building, but remains below last year
Auction activity typically increases through spring as more sellers take properties to market.
For the week ending 13 September, Cotality expects 1,615 capital city auctions, 12.9% more than the 1,431 held in the previous week.
That would still be 32.8% below the 2,402 auctions held in the equivalent week last year.
Melbourne is expected to remain the busiest market with 676 scheduled auctions, while Sydney has 616.
Brisbane is scheduled for 169 auctions, up 29.0% from the previous week and 16.6% above the equivalent week last year.
Does more spring auction activity make property more affordable?
Not necessarily.
Having more properties available may give some buyers additional choice, but affordability depends on much more than the amount of stock coming to auction.
The purchase price, deposit, income, living expenses, existing debts, interest rate, loan term and lender requirements can all affect what a buyer may be able to afford.
Rather than treating a rise in spring auction activity as a reason to increase their budget, buyers may wish to use the extra choice to compare properties carefully.
Useful indicators include:
recent comparable sales
new and total listings
days on market
auction pass-ins
asking-price changes
seller discounting
the number of active bidders for similar homes.
Together, these may provide a more useful picture than one weekly auction statistic alone.
Why borrowing power still matters in a softer auction market
A property may become more negotiable without becoming more affordable for you.
Borrowing power can be influenced by factors including income, expenses, debts, credit limits, interest rates, loan terms and individual lender policies.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority currently requires APRA-regulated lenders to apply a minimum 3 percentage point mortgage serviceability buffer when assessing new borrowers.
That means lenders generally assess whether a borrower may be able to meet repayments at an interest rate higher than the actual rate on the proposed loan.
At the same time, the Reserve Bank’s cash rate target is currently 4.35%. The RBA raised the cash rate three times in 2026, by a total of 75 basis points, before leaving it unchanged at its June and August meetings.
The four major banks are also forecasting at least one further cash rate increase before the end of the year. If that occurs, borrowing costs could rise again for some variable-rate borrowers, while lenders may reassess serviceability and affordability under higher interest-rate assumptions.
For buyers, the practical point is that a lower clearance rate does not automatically mean greater borrowing power.
Your borrowing position may also change while you are searching if:
your income or expenses change
you take on or repay debt
your credit limits change
interest rates move
a lender updates its assessment criteria
your conditional pre-approval expires
the property itself does not meet lender requirements.
An Aussie Broker can help assess what may be achievable based on your circumstances and compare lenders and loan features.
What should buyers do before bidding at auction?
Auction conditions can influence how competitive bidding feels, but your own finances should determine how much you are prepared to pay.
Before auction day, consider:
Research comparable sales. Focus on genuinely similar properties rather than suburb-wide medians alone.
Understand your borrowing position. Conditional pre-approval may provide an indication of what a lender may be prepared to lend, but it is not final loan approval.
Set your maximum purchase price. Consider your deposit, purchase costs and estimated repayments rather than simply the maximum amount you might be able to borrow.
Review the contract. Auction purchases generally do not carry the same cooling-off arrangements as many private treaty purchases, although rules vary by jurisdiction. Consider obtaining independent legal advice before bidding.
Plan for a pass-in. Decide beforehand whether you would be prepared to negotiate after auction and what your maximum price would be.
Check the repayments. Start by using Aussie’s free repayments calculator to estimate how different purchase prices and loan amounts may affect repayments.
Softer auction conditions may give some buyers more negotiating scope, particularly where a property fails to meet its reserve.
But the strongest position comes from understanding both the property and your finances.
Clearance rates provide context about the broader auction market. Comparable sales provide evidence about the property. Your finance position helps establish what may actually be achievable.
An Aussie Broker can help you understand your borrowing power and compare loan options before you make an offer or bid.