Melbourne buyers returned to auctions in force on Saturday, helping push the city’s preliminary clearance rate to 62.6 per cent as agents tipped stronger competition ahead of spring.
Melbourne buyers are flooding back to auctions, pushing the city towards its strongest clearance rate in almost five months.
PropTrack data shows Melbourne recorded a preliminary 62.6 per cent clearance rate from 342 results reported on Saturday, up from last week’s final 53.7 per cent.
Preliminary rates typically fall as outstanding results are collected, but if Saturday’s figure remains above 55.7 per cent when finalised it would be Melbourne’s strongest clearance rate since March 17, when it recorded 57.5 per cent.
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Even so, a final rate below 60 per cent would generally leave buyers with the upper hand, while property experts cautioned the figure did not capture homes diverted to private sale or expressions of interest.
Ray White Mill Park sales consultant Adam Velardi summed up the changing mood by posting footage of a packed auction crowd to Instagram with the words: “They said the market was dead.”
Ray White Mill Park sales consultant Adam Velardi said new buyers were returning to the market, with one packed auction prompting his cheeky declaration: “They said the market was dead.”
Mr Velardi said new buyers were emerging after sitting out recent weeks, but the improvement remained uneven.
He said more expensive homes could still struggle for buyers, while well-presented properties in sought-after locations with limited competing stock were drawing stronger competition.
“It was just crazy to see buyers turn up,” Mr Velardi said.
“There’s still a demand there without the supply and it just caused an outburst. There were bids coming from everywhere.”
Adam Velardi’s Picture: Instagram/adamvelardi_raywhite
Mr Velardi said big crowds could also change buyer behaviour once bidding began.
“Buyers do like to bid a little bit more when there is a big crowd around because they think that, with all the buyers there, it’s a very good home and they don’t want to miss,” he said.
He expected spring to become more competitive as demand rose alongside the traditional increase in listings.
Ray White Victoria chief auctioneer Luke Banitsiotis said big crowds, nervous body language and restless bidders could reveal an auction was “about to blow up” before bidding even began.
Ray White director and auctioneer Luke Banitsiotis said his firm’s clearance rate had also been trending in the mid to high 50s, but conditions had not yet swung decisively towards sellers.
“On the ground here in Victoria at the moment, it feels pretty balanced,” Mr Banitsiotis said.
He said auctioneers could often spot a bidding battle before the first bid was called.
“When you turn up, when you park your car in the street, you get out, it’s almost a nervous tension in the air,” he said.
“The biggest telltale signs are big crowds, people standing with their arms folded, twitching, not standing still.
“You can pick the energy of an auction that’s about to blow up.”
Mr Banitsiotis said two emotionally committed buyers could be enough to transform a result.
“You just need two. If they’re highly engaged, you just need two,” he said.
He said reserve prices were “probably the sharpest” he had seen in a long time and predicted a lighter-than-normal spring as some homeowners without a pressing need to move continued to wait.
Whitefox Advocacy director Nicholas Morrison believes Melbourne could be near the bottom of its market cycle, tipping winter 2026 buyers to be remembered as those who “bought really, really well”.
Whitefox Advocacy director Nicholas Morrison cautioned against treating Saturday’s clearance rate as proof the entire Melbourne market had strengthened.
Mr Morrison said agents in softer conditions could move properties away from auction and towards private sale or campaigns run by expressions of interest.
“Clearance rates are not a particularly good indication of where the market’s at because, in a softer market like this, rather than putting things to auction, any smart agent will go to an EOI,” Mr Morrison said.
Despite that, he said agents he had spoken to on Saturday were reporting large numbers through open homes and quality properties were continuing to sell.
“I feel like we’re at the bottom of the market now and the smart buyers are jumping back in,” he said.
“The people who buy in winter 2026 are going to be known as the people who bought really, really well.”
14 James St, Richmond, topped Melbourne’s reported Saturday auction sales at $3.315m as the city recorded a preliminary 62.6 per cent clearance rate.
542 Canning St, Carlton North, fetched $2.38m under the hammer, making it Melbourne’s second-highest reported auction sale on Saturday.
12 Minto St, Kew East, sold for $2.27m as Melbourne buyers returned to auctions in greater numbers ahead of the spring selling season.
Mr Morrison expected a “measured” spring rather than a boom, but said current conditions offered upgraders an opportunity.
“If you’re looking to upgrade, you’re not going to get a better market to upgrade in,” he said.
Among homes reported sold under the hammer on Saturday, excluding properties sold before auction, 14 James St, Richmond, recorded Melbourne’s biggest result at $3.315m.
It was followed by 542 Canning St, Carlton North, at $2.38m, 12 Minto St, Kew East, at $2.27m, 3 Malmsbury St, Hawthorn, at $2.019m and 2/558 Orrong Rd, Armadale, at $1.98m.
3 Malmsbury St, Hawthorn, changed hands for $2.019m, one of four reported Melbourne auction sales to crack the $2m mark on Saturday.
2/558 Orrong Rd, Armadale, sold for $1.98m to round out Melbourne’s five biggest reported sales under the hammer on Saturday.
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