August in Victoria felt like a market waiting for spring to arrive. Auction numbers held steady through the month rather than surging, buyers took their time, and sellers who priced carefully still found results. It was not a dramatic month in either direction, but the figures give a useful picture of where things sit as the spring campaign season opens across Melbourne’s north.

On auction volumes, Cotality’s weekly reporting put Melbourne at 559 auctions in the week ending 2 August, rising to 659 the following week, then easing to 588 in the week ending 16 August and 594 in the week ending 23 August. Those weekly totals are well down on the same period a year earlier, when Melbourne was regularly holding more than 900 auctions a week.

Clearance rates followed a similar pattern of gentle movement. Cotality recorded Melbourne finalising at 54.7 per cent in the week ending 2 August, lifting to 56.8 per cent the week after, then settling back to 52.9 per cent and 51.9 per cent in the final two reported weeks of the month. Domain’s own reporting for the week of 23 to 29 August showed a 57 per cent clearance rate from 639 scheduled auctions, with 293 sales and 159 properties passed in. The gap between those numbers is a reminder that different data providers count reported results differently, so it is worth reading any single clearance figure as a guide rather than a precise score.

What sits behind those numbers is a market where roughly half of auctions are ending in a sale on the day. That means passing in has become a normal outcome rather than a sign that something has gone wrong. Plenty of homes that pass in are negotiated to a sale in the days that follow, once the highest bidder and the seller talk through price.

Prices told a softer story again in August. The PropTrack Home Price Index, published by realestate.com.au, showed Melbourne values down 0.2 per cent for the month, leaving them about 5.3 per cent below their peak and 4.3 per cent lower than a year ago. Cotality’s separate Home Value Index recorded a larger monthly fall for Melbourne of 1.1 per cent. Both providers describe the same broad direction: values easing gradually rather than falling sharply.

There is a clear split between property types. PropTrack put Melbourne house values around 6.3 per cent below their peak, while units were only about 2.2 per cent below. Higher interest rates have reduced how much buyers can borrow, and when budgets tighten, more affordable homes attract a larger pool of interest. In the northern suburbs, that shows up as steady enquiry on units, townhouses and entry-level family homes, with longer campaigns on the larger and more expensive properties.

Buyer sentiment through August was cautious rather than absent. Cotality noted that advertised listings across the capital cities were tracking around 24 per cent higher than a year ago, and that homes are taking longer to sell. More choice and less urgency changes how buyers behave: they inspect more properties, they compare, and they are slower to commit. Attendance at open homes has thinned, which can make a quiet inspection feel worse than the underlying interest actually is.

For sellers preparing a spring campaign, the practical implication is that presentation and pricing matter more than timing tricks. A property that is priced in line with recent comparable sales, rather than last year’s results, tends to attract the buyers who are ready to act.

For buyers, the current conditions offer something that has been rare in recent years: time. With more homes listed and fewer competing bidders, there is room to inspect properly, arrange building and pest checks, and get finance sorted before committing. It is still worth confirming your borrowing position with your own broker or lender, since borrowing capacity has been the single biggest influence on what buyers can pay this year.

As September opens, Cotality expects auction volumes to hold at a steady level through the first fortnight of spring. That suggests a market with reasonable supply and measured demand rather than a rush in either direction. For anyone in Thomastown and the surrounding northern suburbs, the sensible approach is the same one that worked through August: realistic expectations, thorough preparation, and a willingness to negotiate.