2212 GMT - Australia's housing market showed fresh signs of weakening this past weekend, with the auction clearance rate across the nation's capitals falling below 50% for the first time since the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. Cotality said a preliminary reading points to an auction clear rate of 47.4%. That is its lowest reading since the final week of April, 2020. "Over the past four weeks, the average revision rate between the preliminary clearance and final auction clearance rate has been -5.5%, suggesting the final clearance rate could be in the low 40% range once finalized on Wednesday," said Tim Lawless, research director at Cotality. He expects the number of auctions to reduce further in coming weeks. That partly reflects a seasonal trend, but is also likely a factor of weaker selling conditions. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 21, 2026 18:12 ET (22:12 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.