Melbourne's clearance rate was up this week and volumes were strong, while in Sydney the clearance rate eased amid thin volumes.
While Sydney and Melbourne's property markets remain buoyed by low interest rates, Sydney is being hit by concerns about a price correction and political debate about negative gearing.
In Sydney, the auction clearance rate was down, and the volume of properties going to market was thin.
Sydney's auction clearance rates fell to 73.3% over the weekend, down from 76.9% the previous week, according to Domain. The result was the first decline in a month, and down significantly from the 83.3% recorded for the same weekend last year.
Volumes were also down, with 578 properties listed for auction on the weekend, compared with 654 the previous week, and 681 for the same weekend last year.
Though the results show a decline in clearances for the week, a clearance rate greater than 70% shows that the market remains firmly in favour of sellers.
However, in Melbourne, clearance rates were up again, and volumes were strong. The weekend's clearance rate was 75.8%, a rise from 75.3% the previous weekend, and also higher than the 74.9% recorded for the same weekend last year.
Volumes in Melbourne were significantly higher than in Sydney. A total of 1,152 homes were listed to go under the hammer on Saturday, just lower than the 1,212 auctioned the previous weekend, but up significantly on the 387 recorded the previous year.
In Sydney, weak results in the outer suburbs masked strong results in inner-circle suburbs. For example, the clearance rate in Sydney's Lower North Shore was an impressive 86.4%, while in the Western Suburbs it was only 52.2%.
The same trend was apparent in Melbourne, though to a lesser degree. Inner South suburbs achieved a clearance rate of 78.6%, while in the Outer East, the clearance rate was 71.2%.