A majority of homes put up for auction in Australian capitals over the weekend failed to sell during property's first big test of the year.
CoreLogic data released on Thursday indicated 42.8 per cent of properties were sold under the hammer across the country in the first week of February based on the results of 453 auctions, with another 83 not reported.
A tally from the same period last year, which featured the results from 697 auctions, produced a clearance rate of 62 per cent.
CoreLogic analysts said the latest result was a continuation of relatively low clearance rates recorded in November and December, when results hovered in the low 40s.
Only 28.0 per cent of homes taken to auction in Brisbane sold, based on the confirmed results of 50 auctions monitored by CoreLogic, while results for another five auctions were not recorded.
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In Melbourne, 44.3 per cent of homes taken to auction sold, based on 140 auctions monitored by CoreLogic, while results for another 22 auctions were not recorded.
In Sydney, 49.5 per cent of 101 properties on offer sold while the results for another 29 were not recorded.
The number of auctions scheduled for the second week of February is expected to double in both Sydney and Melbourne compared to the previous week.
