Auction market finds its footing as active bidding steadies

Ray White Group's national auction market has just recorded its first week without a week-on-week decline in more than six weeks.

Ray White conducted 336 auctions last week from 618 scheduled, with a final auction day clearance rate (ADCR) of 51.5 per cent. But Mr McGlynn says the headline number tells only part of the story - with withdrawn listings, conditional buyer preferences, and vendors holding above-market price expectations combining to suppress results more than buyer demand alone.

"What we're seeing isn't simply a case of buyers disappearing, its vendors choosing not to transact on terms the market will support right now," Mr McGlynn said.

"When you look at the auctions that did proceed, competition remained surprisingly strong. Nearly half involved strong or very strong bidding, and only around one in five were won by a single buyer without a genuine contest. The buyers are there but the gap between vendor expectations and market reality is the friction."

“We had active bidding on 74 per cent of our auctions last week which is only 7 per cent lower than the year prior. Right now, it’s sellers who are choosing not to sell. Active bidding has not collapsed its holding at 2.0 nationally,” Mr McGlynn said.

"We've seen both sellers and buyers take a more cautious approach to the market in recent months, so to see active bidder numbers hold steady and clearance rates stop falling is an encouraging sign," Mr McGlynn said.

Registered bidders averaged 2.7 per auction with 2.0 active - unchanged from the Saturday preliminary - while auctions sold 1.7 per cent above reserve on average, the strongest result since early May. Nearly 70 per cent of properties sold at or above reserve, also the highest since mid-May.

Sellers who proceeded to auction also achieved 9.9 per cent more than their highest pre-auction offer - the best outcome since late March.

Ray White data released alongside the weekly results reinforces the case for the auction method.

Properties sold using the auction method outperformed private treaty at every milestone - 45 per cent versus 27 per cent at 30 days, 64 per cent versus 49 per cent at 45 days, and 77 per cent versus 61 per cent at 60 days.

Week-one open home attendances averaged 4.6 per inspection for auction listings compared with 3.4 for private treaty, and across full campaigns in 2026 the gap held at 3.45 versus 2.65 per inspection on average.

"The data continues to show that auction delivers better outcomes for sellers, not just on the day, but across the entire campaign," Mr McGlynn said.

"Open homes are still the most important source of buyers, with nearly two-thirds of successful purchasers first encountered at an inspection, and auction listings are consistently drawing larger crowds."

Despite broader market softness and a notable drop in investor activity following the federal budget, almost half of all successful auctions last week involved strong or very strong bidding competition. Only around one in five were won by a single buyer without a genuine contest.

Owner-occupiers made up 72 per cent of successful buyers, though investors remained active, accounting for nearly one quarter of purchases - despite Ray White members reporting a sharp decline in investor enquiry since the Budget.

On the vendor side, nearly one in four sellers under the hammer last week were investors exiting the market, alongside a large cohort selling due to life events including deceased estates, relocations, and upsizing or downsizing.

Of the 91 auctions withdrawn from the process last week, the primary driver was low buyer enquiry and a shortage of bidders willing to bid unconditionally. Around 42 per cent of those vendors were moderately above market on price expectations.

More than 70 per cent of withdrawn auctions were converted to private treaty mid-campaign or in the final week, with the decision most commonly made jointly between agent and vendor.

Mr McGlynn said accurate pricing remained one of the strongest drivers of buyer engagement. "The agents getting the best results are combining realistic price expectations with strong presentation and proactive buyer follow-up. That combination is still cutting through even in a more measured market."