By Caitlin Fono, Analyst, Cotality (Formerly CoreLogic)

There were 2,613 homes taken to auction across the combined capitals last week, up 33.5% on the previous week when auction activity was impacted by a long weekend in four of the eight states and territories (1,958).

The combined capital city preliminary clearance rate rose to 73.0% last week – the highest in three weeks. The previous week's preliminary clearance rate came in at 71.9%, revising down to 67.4% on final numbers.

Melbourne was the busiest auction market with 1,254 homes taken to auction last week, up from 1,164 the previous week. The preliminary clearance rate, at 73.5%, was the highest in three weeks.

There were 1,003 auctions held in Sydney last week, up from 511 the week prior (Labour Day long weekend). 73.9% of auctions have returned a positive result so far, up from 72.4% the previous week (revised lower to 68.3% once finalised).

Across the smaller capitals, Brisbane hosted the most auctions, with 133 homes going under the hammer last week, compared to 148 a week earlier. A preliminary clearance rate of 68.5% was recorded, down from 69.3% the previous week (revised to 65.5% on final numbers).

There were 106 auctions held across the ACT last, up from 57 the previous week. So far, 61.5% of auctions have reported a successful result, down from 70.6% the week prior (68.4% once finalised).

In Adelaide, 96 homes went to auction last week, up from 65 the previous week. An early clearance rate of 80.6% was recorded, up from 78.8% a week earlier.

There were 18 auctions in Perth last week, up from 13 the previous week, while just three auctions were held in Tasmania, after two weeks of inactivity.