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Weekend buyers came out in force in Sydney, which recorded its highest clearance rate since the spring selling season.
Sydney held 256 auctions and achieved a clearance rate of 82.4 per cent, according to Australian Property Monitors.
That was significantly higher than the 78.5 per cent rate recorded 12 months earlier.
Domain Group senior economist Andrew Wilson said last week’s interest rate cut is fuelling “decade-high levels of confidence and enthusiasm in both buyers and sellers”.
He also said the strong auction numbers reflect the strength of Sydney’s underlying conditions.
Conversely, the Melbourne market appears to be weakening, and is unlikely to receive any short-term bounce from the rate cut, according to Dr Wilson.
Melbourne held 135 auctions, with the clearance rate reaching 67.2 per cent, compared to 67.6 per cent the year before.
“An early trend is emerging of lower auction listings in Melbourne this year – another indication of weakening market activity,” Dr Wilson said.
“Melbourne’s housing market weakened over late spring last year, with clearance rates falling to year-lows and continuing modest house price growth.
“Listings will rise significantly over coming weekends providing more robust insights into overall market activity, but early indications unsurprisingly show the market starting 2015 as it finished 2014 – modestly."
The weekend also saw Brisbane hold 51 auctions and Adelaide hold 31. Brisbane’s clearance rate fell from 57.6 per cent to 45.8 per cent, while Adelaide’s rose from 71.4 per cent to 72.7 per cent.
[Related: Why auctions get the best results]
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