Melbourne witnessed a surge in auction withdrawals over the weekend, dragging the overall auction success rate across the capital cities.
According to CoreLogic, over 2,245 auctions were held across capital cities over the weekend.
Half of these scheduled auctions were from Melbourne which hosted 1,185 auctions but 64.3% were withdrawn.
This led to Melbourne's clearance rate plunging to 34.7%. The extension of the lockdown in Victoria could potentially continue the auction lull in the city over the next weekend.
Overall, capital cities across Australia recorded an average preliminary clearance rate of 55.4%, the lowest since April 2020. This is likely to go lower as more results come in.
Despite being under lockdown, Sydney was the most successful city over the weekend with 82.7% of 598 auctions pushing through a sale.
However, it is interesting to note the level of activity in the city was lower than the during same period last year when 706 auctions were held.
Across smaller markets, Adelaide was the busiest, with 172 auctions and an 81.3% clearance rate.
The existing lockdowns also impacted Canberra's auction. It recorded a success rate of 63.2% for its 112 auctions.
Property values still on the rise
Over the week, house prices across four major capital cities rose.
Brisbane reported the highest weekly gain at 0.6%, followed by Adelaide (0.5%), Sydney (0.3%), and Melbourne (0.2%).
On a monthly basis, both Adelaide and Brisbane clocked the highest gain at 1.8%.
In terms of dwelling supply, three cities posted a decline in new listings, with Canberra hitting the highest annual drop at 26.1%.
There were also fewer new homes listed in Sydney (13.7%) and Hobart (3.3%).
During the same period, Melbourne recorded a significant increase in new listings, up 170.2%.
New listings in Canberra also doubled from last year.