Australian capital cities witnessed 2,599 homes go under the hammer last weekend, figures from CoreLogic show.
The recently recorded auction volume returned a preliminary clearance rate of 72.9%, similar to the results during the previous weekend. Over the same week last year, the overall auction volume was higher at 2,701, but the success rate was considerably lower at just 41.9%.
Sydney and Melbourne continued to perform strongly, with the former recording the highest clearance rate at 82.3%, while the latter reported the busiest auction activity at 1,217 homes.
Auction clearance rates typically fall during the spring selling season and these recent results reflect a "significant buyer depth", said Metropole Properties Strategists director Michael Yardney.
"The prospect of easier access to finance, falling interest rates and positive media has boosted buyer confidence, driving strong auction results across Australia," Yardney said.
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Furthermore, he said buyers are beginning to a manifest the fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) trend, especially in Sydney and Melbourne where prices are fast increasing.
"There is an increased buyer enquiry and general interest in our housing markets because of the expectation of rising prices," Yardney said.
CoreLogic analyst Caitlin Fono said the depth of buyer demand will be tested over the next few weeks as the number of properties taken to auction surges.
"Next week we are expecting auction numbers to lift by around 14%, to be the biggest week of auctions held so far this year. Clearance rates across the largest cities have mostly remained above 70% since July, implying that vendors remain in a strong selling position," she said.
Fono said it will be crucial to see whether the auction success rate can keep up with the increasing level of dwelling supply.
The table below shows how each capital city auction market performed over the past week:
