Highlights

  • The national weekly auction clearance rate fell to 44.4% for the week to 10 October 2026.
  • Brisbane recorded a 17.8% clearance rate, while Melbourne reached 60.5%.
  • Sydney cleared 52.8% of auctions, below the previous week’s 60.0%.
  • The Reserve Bank raised its cash rate target to 4.60% on 29 September.
  • Property tax changes scheduled for July 2027 add to the market’s policy backdrop.

Australia’s residential auction market recorded subdued results during the week to 10 October 2026. The national weekly clearance rate was 44.4%, compared with 45.1% the previous week and 67.3% in the corresponding week of 2025. Brisbane had the lowest reported result among the five capitals in the weekly dataset, highlighting uneven conditions across major housing markets.

Brisbane Lags While Melbourne Holds Up Better

Brisbane’s reported clearance rate was 17.8% across 178 auctions, compared with 23.7% from 145 auctions a week earlier. The corresponding 2025 week recorded 54.2% from 129 auctions. A low clearance rate means a relatively small proportion of reported auction outcomes resulted in a sale; it does not mean that the remaining properties cannot sell later through negotiation or private treaty.

Melbourne recorded 60.5% across 710 auctions, marginally higher than 59.5% in the previous week. Sydney fell to 52.8% from 60.0%, with auction numbers rising to 807 from 521. Adelaide recorded 47.9% across 147 auctions, while Canberra reached 42.8% across 75 auctions. These figures refer to the same reporting series and provide a consistent comparison between cities.

Earlier Final Results Also Showed Softer Conditions

Separately, final combined-capital auction data for the week ending 4 October placed the clearance rate at 45.4%, down from 46.0% a week earlier and 67.4% a year before. That series counted 1,212 auctions, compared with 1,958 in the corresponding 2025 period. Its figures are final results for an earlier week, not a direct replacement for the 10 October weekly rates.

Interest Rates and Property Tax Policy

On 29 September 2026, the Reserve Bank of Australia increased the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.60%. Higher borrowing costs can affect repayment calculations and loan-serviceability assessments. However, auction clearance rates also depend on local listings, reserve prices, property characteristics and the mix of buyers attending auctions.

Federal tax legislation enacted in June 2026 also changes the longer-term settings for residential property investment. From 1 July 2027, the legislation restricts certain negative-gearing deductions for established residential properties acquired after the specified May 2026 cut-off, while providing transitional treatment for eligible existing holdings. It also introduces revised Capital gains tax arrangements, including indexation and a minimum tax mechanism for specified gains. These are policy changes rather than demonstrated explanations for any individual auction result.

What Lower Clearance Rates Indicate

A clearance rate below 50% indicates that fewer than half of auctions with reported outcomes ended in a sale under that provider’s method. Sellers may reassess reserve prices or pursue post-auction discussions, while prospective purchasers may encounter a different negotiating environment from a year earlier. Outcomes nonetheless vary substantially by suburb, property type and price bracket.

Key Insights

October’s auction data points to softer national selling conditions, with Brisbane recording a particularly low clearance rate and Melbourne remaining relatively firmer. The 4.60% cash rate and forthcoming tax settings form part of the wider housing-market environment, but individual auction outcomes cannot be attributed to either Factor alone. Comparable, consistently dated clearance rates and auction volumes provide a more reliable picture than a single headline figure.