Victoria has lost its auction crown to Sydney as a lack of Super Saturdays hits this spring, for the first time since 2020.
Melbourne has officially lost its auction crown to Sydney as Victoria’s capital hits a grim new post-Covid record.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria figures show the state hasn’t had a single Super Saturday with 1000 or more weekly auctions so far this spring.
The last time this occurred was during 2020 when a pandemic lockdown ran from July until late October, and was followed by restrictions on crowd size and attendance at auctions that resulted in limited use of the format for several further weeks.
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REIV chief executive Toby Balazs said it was disappointing to see Sydney’s auction market performing at a much stronger level than Melbourne’s at the moment.
The outcome had been warned of prior to the implementation of Victoria’s new laws banning sellers from going to auction unless they disclose the reserve at least seven days prior to their planned sale date.
He called for whichever political party that wins the November 28 state election to urgently review the Carroll government’s new laws.
REIV chief executive Toby Balazs says Sydney has a much stronger auction market than Victoria this spring, with many Victorian homeowners not having the confidence to take their properties to market.
According to the REIV data, Victoria logged at least one – or usually more – Super Saturday weeks between in the springs of 2021 to 2025.
But Victoria’s highest tally of weekly auctions for September this year was 623 in September and 564 in the week ending October 25.
Realestate.com.au is expecting 556 auctions in Melbourne this week following a 50 per cent clearance rate last week, with Sydney set to host 722 auctions this week.
There’s 576 auctions scheduled across Victoria this week, a 58 per cent drop compared to the same time in 2025.
Mr Balazs added this week’s rate rise and the approaching election meant it unlikely a Super Saturday would occur before November’s end.
“In terms of spring 2026, the auction crown that Melbourne as a clear auction-favoured state, or auction-favoured market, looks as though we’ve been surpassed by Sydney and we no longer have the crown and that’s a shame,” he said.
“We hope that whoever forms government post-November 28 has a really strong look at these new rules to see if they improving things.
“At this stage, we would say that that’s not the case, and an urgent review would need to be undertaken to make sure we get confidence back and people transacting.”
The REIV would like homeowners required to publish a 10 per cent reserve price range three days prior to auction, rather than disclosing a fixed reserve price seven days beforehand.
Jellis Craig chief executive Andrew McCann -says that since introduction of the legislation around reserve price disclosure, coupled with softer market conditions, many sellers are opting not to head to auction.
Jellis Craig chief executive Andrew McCann said since the October introduction of the new auction legislation, he’s seen a trend of home sellers exploring alternate sale methods.
Mr McCann added there was a shortage of new homes being listed compared to the same time last year and less choice for buyers.
He said it looked as if his agency group would be bringing about 30 per cent loss stock to market this November, compared to 12 months ago.
Realestate.com.au data shows there’s 21 homes heading under the hammer in Glen Waverley this week, 14 in Craigieburn and 11 in Carnegie. NCA NewsWire/David Crosling.
Mr McCann joined the REIV and other real estate industry representatives in a working group which presented the 10 per cent reserve proposal to the government prior to the new laws being passed, which he said the government “very much ignored” at the time.
“I think we definitely would like the government to come to the table and have a conversation around whether or not this disclosure process is working and whether it’s understood and in the best interest of buyers and sellers collectively,” Mr McCann added.
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