Preliminary Capital-City Auction Clearance Rate Reached 56.5%

Short summary

Australia's preliminary weighted capital-city auction clearance rate was 56.5% for the week ending 16 August 2026, according to Cotality.

The provider had collected 949 results from 1,309 auctions counted for the week. Of those known outcomes, 537 were reported cleared and 412 uncleared. That means outcomes were known for 72.5% of the auction count when the preliminary result was published.

This is an early market measure, not a final result or a property-price forecast. Use the Auction Results hub for provider links and city context. The Auction Clearance Rate Calculator can reproduce the arithmetic from entered known outcomes, but it cannot verify a provider's data.

What changed

Cotality counted 1,309 auctions across the combined capitals and had collected 949 results when the preliminary rate was published. Sydney's preliminary rate was 55.6% from 313 known results. Melbourne's was 57.4% from 474 known results.

Smaller samples need extra caution. Cotality warns that rates based on fewer than 10 known results are statistically unreliable.

How the 56.5% rate is calculated

Cotality counts properties reported sold before auction, at auction or after auction as cleared. Known outcomes reported passed in or withdrawn are counted as uncleared.

For the combined capitals:

537 cleared outcomes divided by 949 known outcomes equals 56.6% before provider rounding and weighting.

Cotality publishes a weighted result of 56.5%. Provider methodology and weighting can create a small difference from a simple division of displayed totals.

The 360 auctions without a collected result were not treated as sales or failures in the known-results rate. That is why reporting coverage matters when reading a preliminary headline.

Preliminary does not mean final

The result is revised as agents and providers report more outcomes. Late results are not necessarily distributed like the early sample. The final clearance rate may therefore be lower or higher than the preliminary result.

Cotality publishes a preliminary result on Monday and a final result on Thursday. When comparing two weeks, use results at the same publication stage. Comparing one preliminary rate with another week's final rate can give a false impression of movement.

Read Preliminary vs Final Auction Clearance Rates for a worked coverage example.

What buyers and sellers can take from it

A clearance rate describes reported auction outcomes across a broad market. It does not show:

• whether a particular home sold above or below fair value;
• the reserve price or vendor expectations;
• the number or financial position of active bidders;
• the result for an individual suburb or property type; or
• what the market will do next.

For buyers, recent comparable sales and a firm budget are more useful for a specific property. The Auction Bidding Budget Checklist links the price decision to stamp duty, purchase costs and borrowing limits.

For sellers, the city-wide rate is context rather than a valuation. Property condition, price guide, reserve, campaign quality and the local buyer pool still matter.

What remains uncertain

Final results for the week were not yet available when this article was checked on 18 August 2026. Provider totals can also differ because they may cover different auction sets, collect results at different times or classify outcomes differently.

No calculator formula needs changing because of this release. The site's auction calculator uses the cleared and uncleared outcomes entered by the user and does not supply live market data.

Sources

• Cotality: Auction Results, week ending 16 August 2026, checked 18 August 2026.
• Cotality: Auction clearance rate methodology, checked 18 August 2026.

General information disclaimer

This article provides general market information only. It is not a valuation, property recommendation, investment advice or a prediction. Preliminary auction results can be revised. Check the provider's current release and property-specific evidence before relying on a market headline.

Last updated: 18 August 2026.