The auction markets across capital cities remained on an uptrend over the weekend, with Sydney and Melbourne recording high levels of activity, according to the latest figures from CoreLogic.
Over the weekend, capital cities hosted 1,758 auctions, which returned a preliminary success rate of 73.2%, higher than last year's clearance rate of 70.6%
Sydney remained the busiest market, hosting 853 auctions. The city achieved a success rate of 78.6%.
Recovery continued in Melbourne after weeks of lull during the stage-four lockdown, with the city's auction market reporting activity for 606 homes. The success rate in the city also remained strong at 71.8%.
Across the smaller cities, Adelaide recorded the highest preliminary clearance rate at 77.8%, followed by Canberra at 76.2%.
The table below shows the performance of auction markets across capital cities:
Caitlin Fono, analyst at CoreLogic, said the broader trend in auction markets is consistent with other indicators pointing to some momentum building in the housing market recovery.
"Housing values are now trending higher across every capital city, including Melbourne, average selling time has reduced and mortgage activity has rebounded strongly," she said.
Australian dwelling prices have started to recover eight months since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with all capital cities except Melbourne posting gains in October.
Latest figures from CoreLogic show a 0.4% monthly growth in median dwelling price in October, with Adelaide and Darwin hitting the highest gains at 1.2%.
While Melbourne prices declined over the month, projections for the city's performance over the next few months are solid, said Tim Lawless, head of research at CoreLogic.
"Based on this recent trend in housing values and activity, it seems likely we will see Melbourne follow the other capital cities towards a recovery over the coming month," he said.
