Australia auction clearance rate rises to 51.5% in November 2026
Australia's preliminary auction clearance rate rose to 51.5% in the week to 8 November 2026, but 43.5% fewer homes went under the hammer than a year ago.
The facts
- The preliminary auction clearance rate across Australia's combined capital cities reached 51.5% in the week ending 8 November 2026, up 4.3 percentage points from 47.2% a week earlier.
- 1,734 auctions were held, 1.2% more than the previous week but 43.5% fewer than in the corresponding week of 2025.
- Melbourne held 612 auctions, 18.4% more than the week before and 55.9% fewer than in the corresponding week last year, and its preliminary clearance rate of 59.1% was the highest in eight weeks.
- Sydney held 709 auctions against 710 a week earlier, 40.2% fewer than a year ago, with a preliminary clearance rate of 52.3% after 53.8%.
- Adelaide held 149 auctions, its highest volume since the final week of March, and cleared 43.5%.
- The ACT cleared 47.2%, up 8.3 percentage points, while Brisbane cleared 31.2% and Perth 36.4%; 178 and 17 auctions were held there respectively.
What it means for your money
- Choice is 43.5% narrower than a year ago. But bidders are fewer too, and nearly half of auctions fail to sell.
- A seller meets less rival stock than last year, though also a smaller pool of bidders on the day, and many prices are settled in private negotiation after the auction rather than on the floor.
- Glopra puts Australian round-trip transaction costs at 7.3% of the purchase price, so a resale into a market this illiquid has to clear that much before it returns anything.
- Auction numbers in Melbourne have run approximately 55% below 2025 levels since reserve price transparency rules took effect in mid-October, which thins the supply of recent comparable sales that valuers and lenders rely on in Australia's second-largest housing market.
What to watch
- Cotality labels these rates preliminary, and the final clearance rates for the same week follow later in the week.
- Cotality's statement that Melbourne auction volumes have run about 55% below 2025 levels excludes the previous week's long weekend result.
- The reserve price rules took effect only in mid-October, so there is not yet a full quarter of evidence on how they change Melbourne pricing.
Sources: Cotality https://www.cotality.com/au/press-releases/combined-capitals-preliminary-auction-clearance-rate-rises-to-51-5