Australia Weekly Property Market Report

Week Ending Sunday, 13 September 2026

Melbourne’s spring auction market strengthens above 60%, but fewer bidders and lower prices keep conditions balanced

Executive summary

This Australia Weekly Property Market Report finds Melbourne’s spring auction market gathering momentum, with volumes rising materially and clearance rates holding above 60% across several preliminary datasets. For vendors coming out of a weak winter, that is encouraging. Even so, conditions remain substantially more sensitive to buyer budgets than they were a year ago.

My Housing Market’s Saturday dataset recorded 768 Melbourne auctions and a 64.2% clearance rate, up from 63.4% the previous week. The combined house and unit auction median was $995,500, with houses at $1.0925 million and units at $741,500. The house auction median remained approximately 5% below the $1.15 million recorded on the corresponding weekend last year.

Source: Latest Australian auction market report.

Separate reporting from realestate.com.au put Melbourne’s preliminary weekend clearance rate at approximately 61.8%, with scheduled auctions exceeding 700. The thinner bidding pool was more revealing: auctions attracted around two bidders on average, compared with more than three a year ago.

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria expected approximately 770 auctions across 243 suburbs during the week, confirming a substantial spring lift in vendor activity.

Source: REIV market news and auction updates.

The latest completed final figures from Cotality, formerly CoreLogic, cover the week ending 6 September. Melbourne recorded a final clearance rate of 54.6% from 656 auctions, its strongest final result since 9 August. For the week ending 13 September, Cotality expected approximately 676 Melbourne auctions and 1,615 auctions nationally. Its final results for the latest weekend were unavailable when this report was prepared; the preliminary figures presented here are not final Cotality results.

Sydney moved in the opposite direction. Its Saturday-based clearance rate fell from 62.6% to 57.8% across 706 auctions, with a house auction median of $1.875 million. Brisbane recovered from an exceptionally weak 19.4% to 33.3%, while Adelaide improved to 51.5% and Canberra to 52.7%.

The broader Australian Housing Market remained softer than the auction headlines might suggest. PropTrack’s latest Home Price Index showed national prices falling for a fifth consecutive month through August, leaving values approximately 2.7% below their March peak. Cotality’s separate Home Value Index recorded a deeper correction: values fell 0.9% in August and 3.6% from the March peak, with around 93% of capital-city suburbs recording declines through winter.

As Melbourne moves further into spring, the distinction matters: activity is increasing, but prices are not yet rising materially.

Australia Weekly Property Market Report: weekly snapshot

Melbourne Property Market: spring supply is finally building

Melbourne’s Saturday-based clearance rate edged up from 63.4% to 64.2%, while auction volume jumped from 654 to 768 properties. That increase is an important part of this Australia Weekly Property Market Report because the recent recovery in clearance rates has taken place against unusually low supply. Holding a stronger rate as more properties come to market would make the improvement more convincing.

Last spring’s results still sit well above current levels. The equivalent weekend in 2025 recorded approximately 1,184 Melbourne auctions and a 73.4% clearance rate. This week’s volume was therefore around 35% lower, with clearance approximately nine percentage points weaker.

Cotality’s separate forecast of 676 Melbourne auctions was 45.5% below the 1,240 held in the comparable week last year. Across the combined capitals, its expected 1,615 auctions represented an annual decline of 32.8%.

Lower supply has helped individual campaigns by giving buyers fewer auction properties to choose from than last spring. That advantage could fade quickly if vendor listings accelerate through late September and October.

Melbourne Auction Clearance Rate: bidder numbers tell another story

The most revealing figure this week may be the number of bidders. Realestate.com.au reported approximately two at a typical Melbourne auction, around one fewer than a year ago and among the lowest levels recorded in recent years.

This helps explain why clearance rates can improve without producing a price boom. An auction does not need ten bidders to succeed; two genuine purchasers and a realistic reserve can be enough. Remove one of those buyers, however, and the outcome can change dramatically. The market is more fragile than the headline clearance rate alone suggests.

Campaign management therefore matters. Agents need to track contract requests, completed building inspections, second inspections and buyers who are genuinely finance-ready. A busy open home is becoming a less reliable guide to auction-day competition.

Melbourne House Prices: reading the auction medians

The combined Melbourne auction median was $995,500, with houses at $1.0925 million and units at $741,500. The house median rose sharply from $952,500 the previous week, although changes in the properties auctioned can cause substantial weekly swings.

For this Australia Weekly Property Market Report, the annual comparison is more meaningful. The $1.0925 million house auction median was approximately 5% below the $1.15 million recorded in the equivalent week last year.

That result is consistent with the broader price indices. PropTrack recorded five consecutive monthly falls in Australian home prices, leaving values approximately 2.7% below their March peak. Cotality’s separate index showed a national decline of approximately 3.6% from peak.

For vendors, an improving clearance rate does not necessarily mean a property is worth more than it was earlier this year. It may simply reflect greater willingness to meet current buyer budgets.

Performance across Melbourne’s regions

Results varied considerably across the city. The North East led with a 70% clearance rate, followed by the Outer East at 66% and the South East at approximately 64%. The Inner East again had the weakest result among the major regions, at 56.8%.

The price difference between the North East and Inner East helps explain the divide. Their median auction prices were approximately $766,250 and around $1.394 million respectively. Affordability is becoming one of Melbourne’s strongest market differentiators: more buyers can secure finance within bank serviceability limits at lower price points, while borrowing-capacity reductions have a greater effect at higher prices.

Melbourne’s West recorded 63.9% clearance and a $917,000 median. The northern region returned 61.8% and an $845,000 median. Together, these results support the broader pattern of relative strength in affordable family markets.

Houses and units

Melbourne houses recorded a 63.4% clearance rate, only slightly ahead of units at 62.9%. The respective medians were $1.0925 million and $741,500.

That narrow clearance-rate gap is noteworthy. Units frequently outperformed houses during winter as borrowing constraints steered buyers towards lower-priced properties. Affordability remains influential, but improving spring activity appears to be bringing more owner-occupier house buyers back into the market.

Townhouses, villas and well-located apartments should nevertheless remain comparatively resilient while interest rates stay elevated.

Melbourne Auction Results: notable sales

Several substantial transactions were reported during the week. The highest auction sale was 38 Brewster Street, Essendon, at $4.3 million.

Other major results included:

• 28B Sussex Street, Brighton — $4.25 million
• 128 Victoria Road, Hawthorn East — $3.95 million
• 83 Mitchell Street, Northcote — $3.4 million
• 3 Glassford Street, Armadale — $2.9 million
• 1 Hudson Street, Caulfield North — $2.651 million
• 56 Gillies Street, Fairfield — $2.635 million
• 12 Union Street, Richmond — $2.55 million
• 33 Sweyn Street, Balwyn North — $2.55 million

At the affordable end, a two-bedroom house at 1A Paulka Court, Epping, sold at auction for $488,000.

These sales show how segmented Melbourne has become. A metropolitan clearance rate offers a useful guide to sentiment, but cannot replace analysis of the suburb, price bracket and property itself.

Passed-in properties and vendor expectations

The latest final Cotality data adds an important caution to this Australia Weekly Property Market Report. Across the combined capitals in the week ending 6 September, 480 homes passed in, compared with 245 withdrawals.

Cotality interpreted this as evidence that weak clearance rates were increasingly driven by properties reaching auction but failing to meet reserve, rather than being withdrawn beforehand. Withdrawals can signal a vendor’s decision not to test the market. A pass-in shows that the market was tested and the price gap remained.

Melbourne vendors need to take particular care with reserves. A figure based on comparable sales from 2025 may exceed what today’s finance-approved buyers can pay.

For buyers, passed-in campaigns remain one of the strongest sources of negotiating opportunities. The highest bidder typically has the first opportunity to negotiate after auction, and the absence of public competition can make those discussions more rational.

Sydney Auction Results

Sydney’s clearance rate slipped from 62.6% to 57.8% across 706 scheduled auctions. On the corresponding weekend last year, 989 auctions produced a 77.1% clearance rate.

Houses cleared at 58.9% and units at 56.5%. The combined auction median was $1.575 million, comprising $1.875 million for houses and $982,000 for units. The house median was approximately 0.5% below the corresponding weekend last year.

Canterbury-Bankstown had the strongest regional clearance rate at 73.7%, followed by the Northern Beaches at 72.7% and the Inner West at 65.3%. Sydney’s West recorded only 33.3%.

Affordability remains central. Sydney’s high purchase prices require larger mortgages, making the market particularly sensitive to interest rates.

The highest reported sale was 19A Harris Street, Sans Souci, at $5.1 million, followed by sales in East Ryde at $4.13 million and Beecroft at $4 million.

Brisbane Property Market

Brisbane’s auction performance improved materially, although conditions remained weak. The Saturday-based clearance rate rose from 19.4% to 33.3% across 159 scheduled auctions.

Domain’s broader preliminary dataset told a similar story. Of 159 scheduled auctions, 120 results were reported and only 37 properties sold. Another 67 passed in and 16 were withdrawn, producing a 31% clearance rate. The reported median was $1.09525 million.

Source: Brisbane weekly auction results.

More than half of the reported auctions therefore passed in. Brisbane is predominantly a private-treaty market, so auction figures do not represent all transactions. They do, however, show the difficulty auction vendors are having in generating competition.

The top reported sale was a Camp Hill home at $2.27 million, followed by The Gap at $2.225 million and Lutwyche at $2.1 million.

Adelaide

Adelaide recovered from a particularly weak start to September, recording 94 scheduled auctions and a 51.5% clearance rate, up from 46.2% the previous week. That was still substantially below the 77.8% achieved on the corresponding weekend last year.

Extraordinary price growth over the past five years has made affordability a much greater constraint. Longer-term supply fundamentals remain comparatively strong, but higher mortgage repayments are reducing the number of buyers able to stretch beyond their original budgets.

Canberra

Canberra improved materially. Domain recorded 52% clearance from 59 scheduled auctions and 48 reported results. Twenty-five properties sold, 15 passed in and eight were withdrawn. The reported auction median was $1.1865 million.

Source: Canberra weekly auction results.

The city’s smaller auction market makes weekly clearance rates more volatile than those in Melbourne or Sydney. Stable government and professional employment remain supportive, while high purchase prices and elevated mortgage rates continue to restrict buyer capacity.

Perth

Perth remains primarily a private-treaty market. Cotality expected only around 20 auctions for the week ending 13 September, compared with 676 in Melbourne and 616 in Sydney.

Auction clearance rates offer very little insight into Perth’s wider housing conditions. Days on market, listing volumes, discounting and private sales remain considerably more useful measures.

Geelong

Local reporting for the week ending 12 September found that only one Geelong property sold by auction. The highest reported transaction was 3 Summerhill Terrace, which sold privately for $1.2 million.

Geelong operates quite differently from Melbourne’s auction-heavy market. A weekly clearance percentage based on one or two transactions would say little about local conditions, making private-treaty outcomes considerably more useful.

Relative affordability continues to attract first-home buyers, families and purchasers relocating from Melbourne in search of more space for their budget. Buyers are increasingly clear about what they want: turnkey homes near schools, transport, shops and employment generally draw stronger interest than properties needing extensive renovation.

Renovation costs remain elevated, and buyers are increasingly deducting the expected cost of works from what they are prepared to pay.

Ballarat

Complete Ballarat sales data for the week ending 12 September was not available from a sufficiently reliable public source when this report was prepared. No citywide clearance rate or transaction count has therefore been fabricated.

Ballarat remains predominantly a private-treaty market. Its affordability relative to Melbourne supports demand from first-home buyers, families and investors, while healthcare, education, government employment and rail connectivity provide a diversified economic base.

The affordability-led preferences evident across Melbourne also apply here. Buyers increasingly favour well-maintained family homes close to schools, transport and major employment centres. Properties needing substantial renovation, energy-efficiency upgrades or structural work generally face greater negotiation as purchasers assess those costs more carefully.

Bendigo

A complete, verified Bendigo transaction dataset for the week ending 12 September had also not been published when this report was prepared. No weekly clearance rate or sales volume has been invented.

Bendigo is primarily a private-treaty market, where days on market, listing volumes and achieved prices offer considerably more insight than auction statistics. Healthcare, education, government, finance and professional employment continue to support longer-term demand, alongside affordability relative to Melbourne.

Investors should not assume that regional resilience guarantees capital growth. Rental demand, maintenance costs, tenant demographics and future housing supply remain considerations for each individual property.

Regional Victoria more broadly

The regional picture in this Australia Weekly Property Market Report includes substantial transactions despite the national housing correction. The highest reported sale across country Victoria and the Riverina for the week ending 12 September was a six-bedroom home in Castlemaine.

Regional markets have generally proved more resilient than Melbourne, with lower median prices reducing their sensitivity to borrowing-capacity cuts. Even so, the distinction between premium and affordable regional properties is becoming more important. Buyers remain active, but selective.

Australian Property Market Update: PropTrack records five months of falls

PropTrack’s latest Home Price Index provides essential context for the Australian Housing Market. National home prices have declined for five consecutive months and are approximately 2.7% below their March 2026 peak. The correction has been concentrated most heavily in Sydney and Melbourne.

The Australia Weekly Property Market Report therefore shows rising spring activity alongside falling home values. There is no contradiction: clearance rates measure sales conversion, while price indices measure changes in property value.

A property might sell successfully at auction because its vendor has lowered expectations by $100,000. The clearance rate records a successful sale; the price index records a falling market. Both can be correct.

Cotality: the downturn has broadened

Cotality’s latest Home Value Index presents an even more cautious picture. National home values fell 0.9% in August, taking the quarterly decline to 3.1% and leaving values approximately 3.6% below their March peak. Around 93% of capital-city suburbs recorded falling values during winter.

Source: Cotality Australian property research.

The correction appears to extend beyond prestige property. Higher interest rates are increasingly affecting middle-market households, helping explain why realistic reserves have become so important.

Buyer sentiment: active, but highly selective

Melbourne’s average of approximately two bidders per auction captures the current mood. Demand exists, but it has limits. Buyers will compete for properties they regard as scarce, affordable or correctly priced, and are increasingly willing to stop when bidding moves beyond comparable sales evidence.

This is a very different environment from a market driven by fear of missing out. With borrowing capacity constrained, finance approval matters more. Buyers should know their maximum purchase price before attending an auction and retain a repayment buffer instead of borrowing to the absolute limit.

Vendor sentiment: more sellers are testing spring

Vendor confidence appears to be improving. REIV expected approximately 770 auctions across 243 Victorian suburbs during the week, while Melbourne’s Saturday dataset recorded 768 scheduled auctions. This was a meaningful increase on the first weekend of spring, though still dramatically below last year.

Many potential vendors appear to be waiting, whether for more clarity on interest rates or stronger spring buyer competition. The risk is that they eventually list at the same time. If auction volumes approach 2025 levels while bidder numbers stay around two per property, vendors could find themselves competing for buyers rather than buyers competing for homes.

Interest rates: the September decision approaches

The Reserve Bank of Australia cash rate remains 4.35%, with the next monetary policy decision scheduled for late September. Recent economic figures have increased expectations that another rise remains possible.

Australia’s economy grew 0.4% in the June quarter and 2.1% over the year, slightly exceeding economist expectations. After the GDP release, financial-market pricing put the probability of a September increase at around 70%, according to Bloomberg pricing reported by ABC. The Australian 10-year government bond yield also climbed to a 15-year high.

These developments directly affect property. Higher bond yields increase funding pressure, higher cash rates reduce borrowing capacity, and uncertainty can make buyers less willing to bid aggressively.

Productivity and household spending

The economic figures also carry a warning. Australian labour productivity was unchanged in the June quarter and approximately 0.2% below a year earlier. Household consumption rose 0.4%, but vehicle purchases accounted for much of the increase in discretionary spending, rather than broad household strength.

The economy is growing, yet households remain under pressure. Economic growth alone should therefore not be read as evidence that property buyers suddenly have greater capacity.

Housing construction and supply

Dwelling investment offered one positive longer-term development, rising 1.6% in the June quarter and 5.8% over the year. Earlier improvements in housing approvals are gradually translating into construction.

Australia nevertheless continues to face a substantial housing shortage. Short-term borrowing constraints are pushing prices down, while long-term undersupply continues to support demand. That tension may eventually put a floor under the correction, particularly in affordable markets where supply is constrained.

Global factors

Global financial conditions also influence Australian property. Elevated global bond yields raise wholesale funding costs, while geopolitical instability can affect fuel and energy prices. Higher energy costs can, in turn, feed into Australian inflation.

Weaker international economic conditions could eventually ease inflation pressure and limit how far central banks need to tighten. The property market is consequently becoming more sensitive to international bond, commodity and inflation markets, as well as the RBA.

Property Market Forecast 2026: the next spring test

The next test for the Australia Weekly Property Market Report is whether demand holds as more properties come to auction. Cotality expects approximately 1,900 capital-city auctions in the week ending 20 September, before activity drops towards 1,300 during the AFL Grand Final week ending 27 September.

If Melbourne can sustain a final clearance rate in the mid-to-high 50s as auction volumes approach 800–900 properties, that would offer stronger evidence of stabilising buyer demand. A sharp fall in clearance as stock increases would instead suggest that the recent improvement has been driven largely by limited supply.

The late-September RBA decision is the other major catalyst. Another increase would reduce borrowing capacity immediately before Melbourne’s traditional October and November selling peak.

Practical insights for vendors, buyers and investors

For vendors: Spring offers opportunity, but pricing remains central to a successful campaign. Use very recent comparable sales, rather than last year’s results. Track contract requests, repeat inspections, finance-ready buyers and confirmed bidders. Set a realistic reserve and agree on a post-auction negotiation plan before auction day.

For buyers: There is no evidence that buyers need to chase the market indiscriminately. Low bidder numbers and falling values make patience valuable. Secure finance, understand your maximum repayment rather than just your maximum loan, and watch properties that pass in.

For investors: Give cash flow more weight than speculative short-term capital growth. Higher finance costs, insurance, maintenance, taxes and compliance expenses can materially change returns. Affordable units and selected regional properties may prove more resilient, but careful property selection remains critical.

Australia Weekly Property Market Report: key takeaways

• Melbourne Auction Results showed a Saturday-based clearance rate of 64.2% from 768 auctions, the third consecutive week above 60% in that dataset.
• Realestate.com.au reported a preliminary Melbourne rate of around 61.8%, while average bidder numbers fell to roughly two per auction.
• The Melbourne house auction median reached $1.0925 million, approximately 5% below the equivalent weekend last year.
• Sydney’s clearance rate fell to 57.8%, while the Brisbane Property Market recorded an auction recovery to approximately 31–33%. Domain reported 67 Brisbane pass-ins from only 120 results.
• This Australian Property Market Update records PropTrack’s fifth consecutive monthly fall in national prices, leaving values approximately 2.7% below their March peak. Cotality’s separate index puts the decline at 3.6%, with 93% of capital-city suburbs recording falls through winter.
• Geelong remains primarily a private-sale market, with only one reported auction sale in the latest week.
• Complete, verified transaction datasets for Ballarat and Bendigo for the week ending 12 September were unavailable at publication. Neither city has been assigned an artificial weekly clearance rate.
• Stronger-than-expected Australian economic growth has increased the risk of another RBA rise, creating a significant potential headwind for the rest of spring.

Frequently asked questions

What was Melbourne’s auction clearance rate for the week ending 13 September 2026?

The Melbourne Auction Clearance Rate was 64.2% in My Housing Market’s Saturday dataset. Realestate.com.au separately reported a preliminary weekend rate of approximately 61.8%. Cotality’s final result for that week was not available when the report was prepared; its latest completed final rate was 54.6% for the week ending 6 September.

How many properties went to auction in Melbourne this week?

The Melbourne Property Market recorded 768 scheduled auctions in My Housing Market’s Saturday dataset, up from 654 the previous week. Separately, REIV expected approximately 770 auctions across 243 suburbs, while Cotality expected approximately 676 Melbourne auctions for the week.

What was the latest Melbourne house auction median price?

The auction measure of Melbourne House Prices placed the latest house median at $1.0925 million, up from $952,500 the previous week but approximately 5% below the $1.15 million recorded on the equivalent weekend last year. Weekly medians need to be read cautiously because the mix of properties changes from one weekend to the next.

What was Sydney’s auction clearance rate this week?

The Sydney Auction Results recorded a Saturday-based clearance rate of 57.8% from 706 scheduled auctions, down from 62.6% the previous week. Houses cleared at 58.9%, while units recorded 56.5%.

What is the Australian property market forecast for spring 2026?

The Property Market Forecast 2026 in this report centres on rising auction supply and the late-September RBA decision. Cotality expects approximately 1,900 capital-city auctions for the week ending 20 September, followed by around 1,300 during the AFL Grand Final week ending 27 September. Melbourne sustaining a final clearance rate in the mid-to-high 50s as volumes approach 800–900 would provide stronger evidence of stabilising demand. A sharp fall as supply rises would suggest the recent improvement was supply-driven, while another rate increase would further reduce borrowing capacity before the October and November selling peak.

Disclaimer: This report is for general information only and is based on market data available at the time of preparation. It does not constitute financial or investment advice. Market conditions may change, and readers should seek appropriate professional advice before making property decisions.