Buyer’s Market: Clearance Rates Below 50% for 12 Weeks

Auction clearance rates have fallen below 50% in 12 of the past 13 weeks, giving buyers their best negotiating position in years across most capital cities.

If you are in the market to buy — or watching from the sidelines wondering when to make your move — Australia's auction data is sending a clear signal: buyers are in the strongest negotiating position they have occupied in at least a year.

MPA Australia reports that the weighted average clearance rate across Australia's combined capital cities fell to 48.2% for the week ending 23 August 2026 — the 12th time in 13 weeks that fewer than half of all homes taken to auction have actually sold. That is a dramatic shift from a year ago, when the equivalent clearance rate was sitting at around 70%. According to Cotality economist Annabelle Mezieres, the rate has fallen roughly 21.8 percentage points over the past year.

A total of 1,390 properties went under the hammer across the capital cities that week — up 8.9% from 1,276 the prior week, but 32.7% below the 2,066 auctions conducted in the same period of 2025. Fewer properties are being brought to auction, yet even among those that do go to market, more than half are failing to sell.

What the City-By-City Data Shows

The picture varies by city, but the buyer-friendly trend is broadly consistent across almost every major market.

Sydney was the only capital to improve on both volume and clearance rate week-on-week. Its clearance rate edged up to 50.3% from 47.1% the previous week, while auction volumes increased 16.3% to 477. Even so, Sydney's volumes remain 34.6% below the 729 conducted in the same week of 2025, and the current clearance rate is 21.3 percentage points below the 71.6% recorded at the same time last year.

Melbourne hosted 594 auctions — down 39.7% from the 985 held a year ago — and recorded a clearance rate of 51.9%, itself down from 52.9% the week before and 19 percentage points below Melbourne's result in the same week of 2025. Adelaide held 90 auctions with a clearance rate of 46.7%, which is 22.7 percentage points below its year-earlier result. Brisbane recorded the sharpest year-on-year decline of any major capital: a clearance rate of just 32.7% across 151 auctions, compared with 62.5% in the same period of 2025 — a fall of 29.8 percentage points.

Canberra cleared 40.9% of its 66 auctions, while Perth cleared just 27.3% of its 11 auctions. As Mezieres noted: "Auction volumes are roughly one third below last year, so fewer homes are being brought to auction, yet a larger share of them are failing to sell."

Looking ahead, Cotality reports that 1,543 properties are scheduled for auction in the final week of winter — up about 11% from the prior week, though still 29.5% below the 2,190 conducted in the same week a year ago. Melbourne leads with 630 auctions scheduled, followed by Sydney with 599. Adelaide is notably the only smaller capital sitting above its year-ago auction level, with 108 scheduled — 4.9% above the 103 held this time last year.

What a Sustained Buyer's Market Means for Your Strategy

A sustained clearance rate below 50% changes the negotiating dynamic in meaningful ways. When more than half of auction properties are passing in — meaning they fail to meet the vendor's reserve price — the balance of power tilts toward buyers. Vendors who achieve a sale, Mezieres observed, are "generally ready to meet the market."

That is a different conversation to the one buyers were having a year ago, when clearance rates were hovering around 70% and competition at auctions was fierce. With stock of listings rising into spring and clearance rates remaining subdued, buyers have greater choice and more room to negotiate than they have had in some time.

For buyers who have been waiting for conditions to improve, the data suggests conditions have shifted. That does not mean prices are in free fall everywhere — South Australia continues to grow strongly, for instance — but in Sydney and Melbourne specifically, home values have declined year-on-year and buyer competition at auction has softened considerably.

The spring selling season is now approaching, with Cotality expecting auction volumes to ease slightly into the first fortnight of spring — just over 1,450 auctions scheduled for the week ending 6 September and around 1,440 for the week after. That suggests a steady but measured flow of listings rather than a sharp spike in activity, which is generally better news for buyers than sellers.

If you are thinking about entering the market this spring, understanding your borrowing capacity clearly before the next wave of listings arrives gives you a significant advantage. Our borrowing power calculator is a useful starting point, and our guide to cheapest home loans can help you compare what lenders are currently offering so you walk into negotiations knowing what you can comfortably afford.

For first home buyers specifically, softer market conditions combined with the various state-based schemes currently available can make this one of the more accessible entry points of the past several years. See our first home buyer guide for an overview of what is available to you, from low-deposit lending to stamp duty concessions in various states.

MPA Australia has the full city-by-city breakdown for the week ending 23 August 2026.