Across the combined capital cities this week, the number of properties taken to auction increased dramatically, with 3,232 auctions held; significantly higher than what has been recorded over the same period across previous years, with auction volumes generally reaching their seasonal peaks around March. The record highs for the number of auctions were confined to the Sydney and Melbourne markets, where auction numbers were the highest on record for the month of February. Despite auctions reaching record highs for February, the combined capital city preliminary clearance rate also reached a new record high over the year to date. 78.6 per cent of auctions recorded a positive result this week, which is higher than the 71.4 per cent last year, across a lower volume of auctions (2,701). Overall activity has increased week-on-week, with volumes increasing across all the capital cities, with clearance rates also rising in most capital cities with the exception of Canberra and Perth, where clearance rates fell over the week.
