Sydney saw a jump in auction activity but the nation's property market is still in a rut, with fewer capital city homes put under the hammer last week and the national clearance rate lagging near a six-year low.
Corelogic said on Monday there were 2,689 homes taken to auction over the past week in the combined capital cities, down 46 from the previous week, and 749 fewer than the same point in 2017.
There were nearly 300 fewer auctions in Melbourne alone, while Adelaide, Canberra, and Perth also saw reduced numbers last week.
Sydney, however, saw nearly 150 extra auctions in what proved to be its fifth busiest week of the year, with an improved clearance rate of 52.4 per cent across the city's 1021 listings.
Sydney's busiest auction regions were North Sydney and Hornsby, the City and Inner South, the Eastern Suburbs, and the Northern Beaches.
The most expensive Sydney home sold during the week was a four-bedroom home at Palm Beach for $9.8 million.
Meanwhile, nearly 57 per cent of the 153 homes up for sale in North Sydney and Hornsby were sold - a rate well above the national weighed clearance figure of 46.9 per cent for the week.
That national rate is likely to be revised lower, but thanks to the Sydney figures it should beat the previous weekly rate of 42 per cent, the lowest recorded since June 2012.
Elsewhere, Brisbane saw its weekly auction numbers edge higher, increasing by 10 to 192, though the city's clearance rate fell below 40 per cent.
Melbourne saw a 44 per cent clearance rate for the week, Canberra 45.9 per cent, Adelaide 52.4, and Perth just 13.6 per cent.
Of the regional centres, Geelong had the best clearance rate of 60.5 per cent for its 53 auctions.
