Auctions have soared in popularity as a method of property sale over the past decade and a half, as buyers compete for the few homes available for sale.
For home sellers, the advantage of an auction deadline is it creates competition. But buyers also enjoy the advantage of transparency in a public auction process, as well as being able to win the first right to negotiate if a property passes in.
Auction sales have risen over time.Credit: Steven Siewert
In Sydney, 25.7 per cent of listings were for auction in February 2009, a rate that rose to 48.2 per cent by this month.
Melbourne’s share of property listings slated for auction jumped from 36.3 per cent to 55.6 per cent over the same timeframe.
Adelaide jumped from 11.1 per cent to 33.3 per cent, Canberra rose from 30 per cent to 49 per cent, and Brisbane rose from 10 per cent to 17.2 per cent. The data compares a four-week rolling count of auctions to a rolling four-week count of new listings.
“You are seeing auctions make up a larger proportion and that is largely due to selling conditions being skewed in favour of sellers in the past couple of years,” CoreLogic economist Kaytlin Ezzy said.
“We have seen very low listing levels across the board, which means you are seeing buyers competing for properties, as opposed to when conditions skewed in favour of the buyers, where sellers are competing for the buyers.
“The use of auctions, as maximising the returns on the property, has become more popular.”
Perth was the only capital city where auctions fell in popularity, from 3.2 per cent in February 2009 to 1 per cent in March 2025.
“Auctions just aren’t that popular in Perth,” Ezzy said. “Historically, in the past 15 years, they’ve only been around 2 per cent per week, which is only one or two auctions.”
Ezzy said the reason was partly cultural.
“Sydney and Melbourne are the largest auction markets, but in markets like Brisbane and Adelaide, auctions have only become more popular recently.”
While CoreLogic doesn’t report the share of auctions by housing type, Ezzy said auctions tended to be skewed towards houses over units and were also more popular as a method of listing for higher-priced properties and unique properties where it is hard to gauge the market value.
She pointed to the first weekend in March and the week leading up to it, when 81 per cent of auctions were for houses and only 19 per cent for units. Even in Sydney, where units make up nearly two in five homes, units comprised 28 per cent of all auctions that week, she said.
Kim Easterbrook, managing director of Elite Buyer Agents, has noticed a rise in auctions within the Melbourne market this year as it has improved.
“There seems to be a lot more confidence and definitely an increase in auctions as more properties are attracting three, four-plus interested buyers,” she said.
In times like this, especially when a property has quality features such as a good floor plan, she said, auctions generally best suited sellers.
“When you have competition, that is when buyers will push past their budgets in order to secure the property and therefore drive the price up,” she said.
While there are more benefits for the seller, buyers too can see advantages from the auction process for two main reasons, said Paul Tzamalis, director and auctioneer from the Auction Company.
“Transparency … you can see your competition,” he said. “[And] exclusive right – if a property is passed in you can earn the exclusive right to buy at reserve or negotiate.”
However, the success of an auction – good or bad – often comes down to the auctioneer.
“An auctioneer plays an enormous role in achieving a good result, but the quality of that auctioneer can also be a catalyst for either end of the spectrum being poor or excellent,” said Tzamalis.
Their contribution to the auction result is determined by three main factors, he said: entertainment, creating a fear of loss and their knowledge of the property.
“Their ability to entertain and create a compelling environment for buyers can ensure people participate and bid with emotion, [while their knowledge of the property provides] a compelling reason to bid. In some instances, new information that buyers didn’t know may compel them to join in,” he said.