Victorian buyers flock to auctions despite fresh interest rate pain

Victoria’s property market is defying interest rate hikes this month with buyer numbers rising in the coming weeks, compared to the same period last year.

Data from Australia’s largest real estate company, Ray White, shows the average number of buyers registered at auctions across the country in the first two weeks of February – higher than the average figure of 3.1 from the same period in 2025.

There were also 2.6 new buyers at each auction in both sessions, despite the Reserve Bank raising rates to 3.85 percent after its meeting on February 3 this year.

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Realestate.com.au’s research arm PropTrack expects 831 auctions across Victoria this week after the state recorded an average of 61 per cent last week.

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania chief trader Luke Banitsiotis said while it was natural to expect rate rises to take the wind out of the sails of the Victorian market, the bottom line was different.

Mr Banitsiotis said part of the state’s strength was because buyers were still ready to compete when the right home came along.

“There is also a feeling among buyers that quality listings are still limited, which keeps the pressure on well-presented homes,” he added.

“While price increases may be driving behaviour, they haven’t stopped Victorians from buying.”

The three-bedroom house at 13 Plume Drive, Mernda, sold for $795,000 on Thursday after three bidders competed for the keys. Ray White’s Chloe Topouzis had a list.

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Ray White Victoria and Tasmania auctioneer Luke Banitsiotis says the Victoria auction still attracts real crowds and real competition.

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Ray White’s data also showed an average of 3.7 buyers attended each Greater Melbourne open home last week, compared to 3.2 buyers in the previous 12 months.

Ray White Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee said Australia recorded an average of 3.3 people per open home held in the week of the RBA’s rate announcement, down 0.2 per cent on the same week in 2025.

The Craigieburn suburb has 24 auctions scheduled this week, Preston 13, and Glen Waverley, Kew and Greenvale 11 each. Photo: NewsWire/Andrew Henshaw.

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Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee says the agency’s 8774 open homes across Australia attracted 34,816 people during the week the RBA raised interest rates.

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“The open domestic data now shows that once policy has been tightened, activity has responded quickly even if supply constraints continue to dampen the potential for price declines,” Ms Conisbee said.

The rate hike means that a household with a national average mortgage of $694,000, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, will now spend $4233 on a monthly mortgage instead of $4337 previously.

This adds up to an additional $1248 per year.

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