Australia's auction market sizzled last week but there was a dip in the clearance rate.
Some 1,732 homes went under the hammer during the week to April 23, with just under half of them in Melbourne, after a widely-expected slowdown heading into the Easter long weekend the previous week.
The average clearance rate slipped to 72.1 per cent, from 73.9 per cent a week earlier when just 493 properties were up for auction due to the Easter break.
Melbourne - the nation's second biggest city after Sydney - recorded the biggest increase in auctions over the week, with volumes surging to 823 from 102 the previous week.
It also returned the highest clearance rate of all the capital cities at 76.8 per cent.
In Sydney, 75.8 per cent of the 585 properties up for auction sold, but of Brisbane's 134 home auctions, only 45.8 per cent found a buyer.
The value of homes across Australia's combined five capital cities fell 0.2 per cent last week, with Sydney and Brisbane both down 0.4 per cent.
However, over the past 12 months, home prices across the five capital cities have jumped 11.8 per cent, driven by solid demand in Melbourne and Sydney.
Melbourne's average home value has jumped 16.3 per cent over the 12 months to April 23, with Sydney close behind on 16.2 per cent.
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