Australia's residential real estate market remained subdued with auction clearance rates falling to 54% this week, down 4.6 percentage points, amid growing fears the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise interest rates later this month, according to Cotality data released Sunday. While 1,832 homes went to auction across capital cities — a 16% weekly increase — it marks the sixth consecutive week with volumes more than 30% below year-ago levels.

In Sydney, 577 homes were auctioned with a 54% clearance rate, the lowest preliminary success rate in seven weeks. Melbourne accounted for nearly half of all capital city auctions with 900 properties, but its clearance rate slumped 7 percentage points to 56%. Auctions are expected to drop sharply next week to about 280 due to the Australian Football League grand final long weekend.

The Reserve Bank of Australia held the key rate at 4.35% in August, but Governor Michele Bullock signaled mounting inflation concerns during parliamentary testimony Friday. Edward Johnson reported the weakening housing market trends following May government property tax changes.