By Caitlin Fono, Research Analyst, Cotality (Formerly CoreLogic) 

There are currently 3,189 homes scheduled for auction across the combined capitals this week, marking not only the second-busiest auction week of the year so far, but the second-busiest week since the lead up to Easter last year.

This week's numbers are up 51.2% on last week (2,109). One year ago, 2,848 homes went under the hammer across the combined capitals.

Sydney is gearing up for its busiest auction week since the lead up to Easter 2022, with 1,290 homes scheduled to go under the hammer this week, up from 1,094 last week and 1,062 this time last year.

Melbourne is set to host 1,391 auctions this week, up 177.1% on last week when just 502 homes were taken to auction (due to the Melbourne Cup Carnival), and 4.6% higher than this time last year (1,330). 

Across the smaller capitals, Brisbane is set to be the busiest market this week, with 217 homes scheduled to go under the hammer, compared to 215 last week. There are 139 auctions scheduled in Canberra this week, up from 132 last week, while 134 auctions are set to go under the hammer in Adelaide, down from 144 last week. In Perth, 15 auctions are scheduled this week, down from 21 last week, while three auctions are scheduled in Tasmania this week.

Next week will see auction activity rise further, with around 3,250 homes set to go under the hammer across the combined capitals.

Summary of last week's results

Last week saw 2,109 homes taken to auction across the combined capitals, with the lower volume attributable to the Melbourne Cup Carnival. The previous week saw 3,236 homes taken under the hammer – the busiest auction week since the lead up to Easter last year (3,519) – while one year ago, 1,972 capital city auctions were held.

The final clearance rate came in at 65.8% last week, overtaking the previous week (66.7%) as the lowest clearance rate since the week ending 22nd June (65.3%). Over the same week last year, a clearance rate of 56.3% was recorded across the combined capitals.

There were just 502 auctions held in Melbourne last week, after the previous week (1,836) saw the largest volume of auctions held since December 2021. This time last year, 474 auctions were held across the city. Melbourne's clearance rate dropped to 61.2% last week, the lowest clearance rate in 27 weeks. The previous week recorded a clearance rate of 67.4%, while this time last year, 58.1% of auctions were successful.

In Sydney, 1,094 homes were taken to auction last week, the fourth-busiest auction week of the year so far. The previous week saw 957 homes taken to auction, while this time last year, 1,036 auctions were held across the city. Sydney's final clearance rate came in at 66.3%, up from 65.3% the previous week. Over the same week last year, 57.2% of reported auctions were successful.

All the smaller auction markets saw an improvement in the clearance rate week-on-week. Adelaide recorded the highest clearance rate, coming in at 77.1%, up from 73.6% the week prior. Brisbane's clearance rate came in at 68.8%, up from 65.4% over the previous week, while Canberra's clearance rate came in at 62.1%, up from 61.1% the week prior.

In Perth, 66.7% of auctions were successful, up from 58.8% the previous week, while there was just one auction in Tasmania, which was successful. Brisbane (215) was the busiest auction market across the smaller capitals, followed by Adelaide (144), Canberra (132) and Perth (21).