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The subdued auction results come as buyers continue to navigate a rapidly shifting policy and lending environment following the 2026–27 federal budget, with softer clearance rates suggesting confidence across major housing markets remains fragile.
Across the combined capitals, the preliminary auction clearance rate edged slightly higher last week to 58.2 per cent, up from 57.5 per cent the week prior following the budget announcement. Despite the modest rebound, the result remained below the key 60 per cent threshold that is often viewed as a sign of balanced market conditions.
Auction activity also increased sharply, with 2,339 homes taken to auction nationally, up 19 per cent week on week, although volumes remained 4.9 per cent lower than the same period last year.
Sydney and Melbourne continue to dominate market activity, but both cities are showing signs of softer buyer conditions.
In Sydney, 823 homes went under the hammer last week, up significantly from the previous week’s 619 auctions. While the preliminary clearance rate recovered to 56.9 per cent from 49.2 per cent the week prior, the city has now recorded sub-60 per cent clearance rates in eight of the past nine weeks.
The prior week’s 49.2 per cent result was comparable to clearance rate lows recorded during the early stages of the pandemic.
Melbourne’s market remained comparatively more resilient, with 1,043 auctions held across the city, representing a 13.6 per cent increase in weekly volumes. The Victorian capital recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 60.2 per cent, slightly down from 61.4 per cent the previous week but still managing to hold above the 60 per cent benchmark for a second consecutive week.
Brisbane continued to record weaker auction conditions, with the city posting a preliminary clearance rate of 45.7 per cent, its weakest early auction result since April 2023.
A total of 194 homes were taken to auction across Brisbane, up 7.2 per cent week on week but down 5.4 per cent compared with the same period last year.
Adelaide remained the strongest-performing auction market nationally despite a slight softening in results. The South Australian capital recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 72 per cent from 135 scheduled auctions, although this was down from 75.7 per cent the week prior.
Canberra also saw auction activity increase sharply, with volumes almost doubling week on week to 131 auctions. Despite the lift in listings, the capital’s clearance rate remained largely unchanged at 54.3 per cent.
Changes afoot on the ground
Brokers have also noted softer demand with their clients on the ground.
Speaking on Broker Daily Uncut, Finni brokers Eva Loisance and Costa Arvanitopoulos said that among their clients, many were holding back until uncertainty around rates and budget implications became clear.
“I think people are still digesting what’s happened with the budget,” Arvanitopoulos said.
“I think people expected the changes to be big, we knew they were coming, but we didn’t expect it to be quite this big.”
Loisance said the federal budget changes had forced many investors to reassess their property strategies, particularly those who had relied heavily on negative gearing assumptions.
“This budget has basically made people reassess their whole strategy. A lot of the strategies people had didn’t include new builds, and not many included self-managed super funds or commercial property where you can still negatively gear,” Loisance said
“So now you’ve got a lot of people going, ‘Well, what does my strategy look like now?’
“They can’t just re-evaluate a strategy in two weeks and say, ‘Cool, I’ll just do this now and keep going.’ A lot of people are holding back, speaking to their financial planner or accountant, and bringing them back into the conversation to work out what’s now possible and whether the strategy still works.
“For some people it still may work. They may still have the capacity where removing negative gearing won’t impact them and they can still service a $700,000 loan. But there’ll be a lot of people who now struggle to hit that benchmark. Someone who may have been looking at a $700,000 purchase could now be looking closer to $500,000.”
Hear more about the budget and its implications for the property market below.
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