Key Highlights

  • Australia's spring auction season is struggling to get going.
  • which is run by economist Dr Andrew Wilson, the national result was down from 45.1% the previous week. "an average clearance rate of just 44.4% over the past week,".
  • My Housing Market put Sydney at 52.8% from 807 auctions.
  • Domain's preliminary results for 4 to 10 October paint a weaker picture of Sydney.

Australia's spring auction season is struggling to get going. Figures published by My Housing Market on 10 October 2026 show the national weekly clearance rate averaged just 44.4%, against 67.3% in the same week last year, and Brisbane cleared fewer than one in five auctions. The results come less than a fortnight after the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate to 4.60%, with investors also weighing negative gearing and capital gains tax changes that start in July 2027.

Sydney and Melbourne: two providers, two different answers

which is run by economist Dr Andrew Wilson, the national result was down from 45.1% the previous week. "an average clearance rate of just 44.4% over the past week," Dr Wilson said.

My Housing Market put Sydney at 52.8% from 807 auctions. That was down from 60.0% across 521 auctions the previous week and 76.4% from 1,189 auctions a year ago. "Sydney recorded a clearance rate of just 52.8% over the past week," he said.

Domain's preliminary results for 4 to 10 October paint a weaker picture of Sydney. Domain recorded a clearance rate of 46%, with 807 auctions scheduled, 472 results reported and 176 withdrawn, against 69% a year earlier. Its Sydney median price was $1,370,000.

Brisbane's auction market has stalled

Brisbane stands out as the weakest capital. a clearance rate of 17.8% from 178 auctions, down from 23.7% across 145 auctions the previous week. In the same week last year, Brisbane cleared 54.2% of 129 auctions.

Domain's preliminary result was almost identical at 18%, with 178 auctions scheduled, 23 sold and 15 withdrawn. Domain also recorded Adelaide at 45% from 147 scheduled auctions, and Canberra at 37% from 75 scheduled auctions, 22 of which were withdrawn.

Cotality's numbers point the same way. Its final figures for the week ending 4 October put Brisbane at 21.2% from 138 auctions. That was down from 32.9% the week before and 44.3 percentage points below the same week a year earlier.

Cotality's final count: 45.4%, the lowest since July

Cotality's final result for the week ending 4 October, released on 8 October, put the combined capital city clearance rate at 45.4%. That compared with 46.0% the previous week and 67.4% a year earlier. It was the lowest result since July, when Cotality recorded 45.3% on 19 July 2026.

Cotality counted 1,212 capital city auctions that week, 38.1% fewer than the 1,958 held a year earlier. Its final Adelaide result was 32.9%, which is 45.6 percentage points below the 78.5% recorded a year ago.

Cotality's preliminary results for the 10 to 11 October weekend had not been published at the time of writing.

Higher rates and tax changes are weighing on buyers

The Reserve Bank raised the cash rate to 4.60% on 29 September 2026, the highest level since 2011. Annual headline inflation was 4.0% in the August monthly indicator.

"Higher interest rates are weighing on borrowing capacity and buyer demand," said PropTrack's Eleanor Creagh. She expects further price falls as the rate rise, tax changes and higher repayments flow through.