Auction clearance rates across Australia remain below 50% for a third straight week, according to reports drawing on recent market data. The decline is attributed to weaker buyer confidence amid higher interest rates and changes to taxes affecting property owners and prospective sellers. All three sources describe the same nationwide trend: auction results are not meeting the 50% threshold for clearing listed properties at auctions, and this is continuing week to week. The West Australian and PerthNow link the lower clearance performance to the combined impact of rising borrowing costs and tax measures introduced under the current Labor government, while Daily Mail frames the tax changes as a political issue but still points to the same underlying data trend. The reporting indicates that sellers are facing more challenging conditions at auctions, with fewer properties selling than in periods when clearance rates were higher. The sources do not provide details on which cities or property segments drove the changes, but they consistently cite the national clearance-rate drop and the third-week continuation.