Clearance Rates Below 50%: It’s Officially a Buyer’s Market

Australia’s auction clearance rate has hit 47% — the lowest since the COVID lockdowns of 2020. Cotality says the final number could fall further.

Australia’s property market has turned

For the first time since April 2020 — when Australia was in the grip of the early COVID lockdowns — the weighted average auction clearance rate across the country has fallen below 50 per cent. ABC News, citing data from information services company Cotality, reports the preliminary weekly clearance rate came in at 47 per cent nationally. And according to Cotality’s research director Tim Lawless, that number is likely to fall further once results are finalised.

“Probably seeing the final clearance rate around the low-to-mid 40 per cent range, which again we haven’t seen since the initial lockdowns of the global pandemic,” Mr Lawless said.

In Sydney — Australia’s largest auction market — the numbers were stark. Of 645 total auctions held during the week, only 225 were cleared. A further 166 auctions were withdrawn entirely, the highest withdrawal count of any capital city according to Cotality’s data. Withdrawn auctions typically signal vendors are unwilling to risk a public pass-in at current pricing.

For buyers, sellers, and existing borrowers trying to read where the market is heading, a 47 per cent preliminary clearance rate — with final figures likely lower — is a meaningful signal. The conditions that kept clearance rates elevated for years — tight supply, urgent competition, and fear of missing out — have materially shifted.

What’s driving it, and what it means for borrowers

Clearance rates do not fall this fast without multiple forces converging. Mr Lawless identified the key drivers clearly.

“We have seen a recent acceleration in the downwards trend, but we were seeing clearance rates coming down in line with higher interest rates with a crisis in confidence amid the Iran war and higher inflation,” he said. “I think it’s fair to say that, post-budget, we’ve probably seen a further blow to confidence that is seeing clearance rates fall even further.”

The broader interest rate backdrop explains much of the pressure. The Reserve Bank kept the cash rate on hold at 4.35 per cent at its June meeting, following three increases earlier this year. That decision came as data showed Australia’s economy had lost momentum and unemployment had risen. Higher rates, higher living costs, and policy uncertainty around the government’s capital gains tax and negative gearing changes are combining to knock both buyer and vendor confidence.

Mr Lawless described a “lack of vendor confidence” in testing the market. Sellers who do proceed, he noted, need to be “quite realistic” about what buyers will pay. For buyers, however, the picture looks notably different.

“For buyers, they’re back in the driver’s seat in many ways; they’ve got more stock to choose from. There’s clearly less urgency in the market, and they can negotiate harder, so it is very much a buyer’s market now in most markets,” Mr Lawless said.

How capital city markets are tracking

It is not just Sydney and Melbourne that are cooling. Both cities have been experiencing falling housing values since late last year, but the trend is now reaching mid-size capitals that had previously been running hard.

- **Adelaide**: Home values up just 0.3 per cent in the past four weeks — the slowest rate of growth recorded in more than a year. - **Brisbane**: Values up 0.5 per cent in four weeks. - **Perth**: Still up 0.9 per cent in four weeks — the strongest performer of the capitals — but less than a third of the growth rate recorded at the end of last year.

“A further loss of momentum in the pace of growth in housing values” is Mr Lawless’s expectation for the period ahead, as the market adjusts to higher rates and the policy changes flowing from the federal budget.

What buyers, sellers, and refinancers should do now

A clearance rate in the low-to-mid 40s is not just a statistic — it is a structural shift in negotiating power. Here is what it means in practice.

**For first home buyers**: This is one of the more favourable entry environments in years. There is more stock available, less competition at auction, and sellers are under pressure to be realistic on price. If you have been working on your deposit and serviceability, now is a reasonable time to be actively looking. Our [first home buyer hub](/home-loans/first-home-buyer) walks you through the process from pre-approval to settlement. Use the [borrowing power calculator](/calculators/borrowing-power) to confirm your ceiling before you start bidding.

**For sellers**: This is not the environment to test the market at an aspirational price. With clearance rates at pandemic-era lows and confidence fragile, realistic pricing is essential — it is the difference between a sale and a withdrawal.

**For refinancers**: Rate relief from the RBA has not arrived yet, but lenders continue to compete for quality borrowers. Reviewing whether you can secure a better rate on your existing loan remains worthwhile regardless of where the cash rate sits. Use the [refinance savings calculator](/calculators/refinance-savings) to see what a lower rate would return each month, or compare available options on the [refinance hub](/home-loans/refinance).

Cotality expects further momentum loss ahead. If you have been waiting on the sidelines for conditions to shift, the data suggests that moment may already be here.

[Source: ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-21/cotality-auction-results-fall-to-lowest-in-six-years-tim-lawless/106825174)