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    Underneath a softer clearance figure, buyer engagement across the Ray White network kept climbing, registered bidders, active bidders, bid activity and open home attendance all trended slightly higher, a combination that doesn't often show up alongside a falling clearance rate.

    Ray White CEO of Performance and Value, Thomas McGlynn, says the divergence is the real story of the week.

    "The clearance rate over the week eased to 46.4 per cent, but if you stopped reading there you'd miss what's actually happening in the market," Mr McGlynn said. "Registered bidders rose for the fourth week running, active bidders for the third, and both are now at their highest point since 25 May. That's not a market losing interest, that's a market where more people are turning up and more of them are willing to put their hand up."

    “When two-thirds of properties are selling under the hammer at or above reserve, and those that don’t are only around 6 per cent away, it tells you the auction process is doing exactly what it’s designed to do. Buyers are competing and owners are getting a genuine opportunity to sell.

    "Sellers are getting genuine price discovery, and in a lot of cases they're getting more than the best offer they'd had before they walked through the door beforehand."

    Nationally, 594 auctions were scheduled last week, up 5.3 per cent on the week prior and 12 per cent above a typical July week since 2019.

    "More auctions are happening across the market generally, but proportionally fewer of our new listings are going down that path, and that's worth sitting with," Mr McGlynn said. "It's not that the auction method is losing effectiveness - it's a listing mix question, and one we'll keep watching closely."

    Properties taken to auction continue to clear faster and more often than those sold by private treaty, with 63.6 per cent of auction properties clearing within 45 days in July, against 51.2 per cent for private treaty, a 12.4-point gap. Averaged across the year, auction holds a 13.8-point advantage, and the method has outperformed private treaty on this measure in every year since 2020.

    "The auction premium isn't a one-off, it's structural," Mr McGlynn said. "We've tracked this for eight years now, and in all markets up, down or sideways, auction properties consistently clear faster. That's the argument for sellers, regardless of what the headline clearance rate is doing week to week."

    Ray White conducts around one in four auctions held across Australia, giving us a strong view of who is buying and selling in real time. The buyer mix continues to shift too. Post-budget buyer-intent data shows the share of first home buyers has lifted from 40.6 per cent to 46.5 per cent, while the investor pool continues to shrink and the renovate-and-flip segment has largely exited the market.

    The number of investors buying at auction has fallen substantially since the budget. Ray White data shows investors are increasingly appearing as sellers rather than buyers. Even so, 62 per cent of investors who have bought at our auctions since the budget say they still intend to rent the property out.

    "We can see first home buyers are stepping into the space investors are leaving," Mr McGlynn said.

    "The investors still buying are doing it for the same reason they always have - to hold and rent - so the exits we're seeing are about caution on new purchases, not a wholesale retreat from the asset class."

    "Week to week, the clearance rate will move around, that's normal," Mr McGlynn said. "What we're watching closely is engagement: how many people register, how many actually bid, how far passed-in properties travel after the hammer doesn't fall. On every one of those measures, this market is moving in the right direction, even while the headline number eases. That's the story sellers should be paying attention to."

    Some standout sales from last Saturday were seen in Brisbane. The Ray White Collective's latest Brisbane auction event produced $20.566 million in total sales, split between $13.34 million sold under the hammer and $7.226 million sold prior, from 30 registered bidders. Ray White Collective CEO and auctioneer Haesley Cush cleared 9 of 18 scheduled properties, at prices ranging from $1.54 million to $2.13 million, with offers pending on five more.

    "It was a solid 50 per cent day, and I'll take it," Mr Cush said. "This is a fair reflection of the market, good properties had good interest. We had no first home buyers here, and we haven't had investors for a long time. These were mostly mid-range buyers, family home buyers, totally unaffected by the changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax rules."

    The standout result was a 7,204sqm hilltop development estate at 33-35 Castle Hill Street, Holland Park West, held by the same family since 1988. Marketed by Ray White Bulimba principal Brandon Wortley, it sold under the hammer for $7.8 million, the highest price of the day, with proceeds directed to conservation charities and a wildlife hospital.

    "This was a great auction, and taking the house to auction was the natural choice as we didn't know its value," Mr Wortley said. "In the end, a local developer won the auction. People were hoping to see a total collapse in price but it simply hasn't happened, and they're looking at the fundamentals of Brisbane. Supply simply hasn't expanded, and prices haven't fallen."

    Elsewhere, there was an incredible result at 217-237 Middle Road, Boronia Heights, where fierce competition saw 12 registered bidders battle through more than 50 bids before the hammer fell at $1.855 million.

    Ray White Holland Park agent Jonah Burrell said he was blown away by the result.

    "Strong buyer competition continues to reward sellers who are priced well and presented properly. While every suburb and price point is different, quality homes are still attracting exceptional interest when taken to the market the right way."

    Download high res photos for the big sale 33-35 Castle Hill Street here

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