Queensland’s home auction clearance rate is reported to be the lowest on record since ex-cyclone Alfred – but a block of empty land can still sell for nearly $2m.
Preliminary data from REA Group found the state’s clearance rate last week was only 28 per cent, dropping from 49 per cent this time last year.
Brisbane only fared a little better at a rate of 31 per cent, but experienced a higher drop-off compared to last year’s rate of 56.8 per cent.
Queensland’s clearance rate has fell to 28 per cent in the last full week of June: a new low since ex-tropical cyclone Alfred, and the second-lowest in the country.
Only 44 of 207 known homes sold at auction, along with 13 sold prior and one sold after auction.
Meanwhile, 149 homes were either withdrawn or passed in throughout the week.
REA Economist Luc Redman said the number was growing closer to the week ex-tropical cyclone Alfred ripped through the state, which brought clearance rates to 21 per cent.
“While this clearance is low by recent standards, it hasn’t reached the 2022 low of 27%, when the RBA was in the middle of its hiking cycle,” he said.
“Additionally, it remains above the pandemic-era 2020 lows and close to the pre-pandemic era levels. Brisbane’s clearance rate follows a similar trend to the state aggregate.”
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REA economist Luc Redman said clearance rates had yet to reached the lows seen during the 2020 pandemic, but continued a low season for 2026.
Despite the low, Brisbane still saw success in some high-demand areas.
The 360 sqm land at 48 Whynot St, West End, was put up for auction after its owners subdivided their larger property, moving the existing home to one side and freeing up the remaining land to sell.
Ray White South Brisbane agent Luke Croft said five registered bidders were attracted to the block for its location, with chances for newly-built homes “hard to find in West End”.
“We’ve had so much heat in the Brisbane property market over the last five years,” he said. “But we’re finding anything that offers owner-occupier property [can] still sell.”
The empty block of land at 48 Whynot St, West End, still managed to sell over the weekend.
The property found five registered bidders, and sold for $1.94 million to a family looking to build on the site.
Bidding began at $1.4 million between three active bidders, moving rapidly up to $1.8m between two potential buyers.
Soon, the property sold under the hammer for $1.94m, sold to a family buying to build and live close to their daughter’s school.
Meanwhile, a five-bedroom home with its new build already complete sold that same day for nearly $3m.
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The five-bedroom house at 20 Milford St, Alderley, was a new and complete build with a design by Plantation Homes.
The five-bedroom house at 20 Milford St, Alderley, was rebuilt from a post-war residence in 2022, updated with a design by Plantation Homes.
Three registered bidders attended the event, with two actively competing from a starting bid of $2.2 million.
The home sold under the hammer for $2.775m: bought by a woman from Samford, seeking a large property near the city for her family.
The property sold to a family moving from Moreton Bay, going under the hammer for $2.775m. Picture: Annette Dew
Ray White Wilston agent Alistair Macmillan said demand remained for updated homes that did not require any building work. Picture: Annette Dew
Ray White Wilston agent Alistair Macmillan said homes with the build work already done were seeing more attention in today’s hesitant auction climate.
“The sale price underpins the value of these newer homes because of the build price increase going on,” he said. “Buyers don’t have to go through the effort of a renovation … [they] are still out there willing to pay for good real estate.”
Nationally, the country’s clearance rate sat at 41 per cent, with the lowest state that week being Western Australia at 18 per cent.
