Melbourne saw a huge number of scheduled auctions this weekend, with more than 1358 planned, but the clearance rate of 69.8 percent was the first time it had come below 70 percent since mid-February. There were 837 homes sold at auction in Melbourne over the weekend, according to Domain. Next weekend, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria is expecting 550 auctions, the highest ever for any Melbourne Cup Day weekend and more than double the number of auctions held last year. In Sydney, the auction clearance rate was 64 percent, well below the 75 percent of this time last year. Sydney saw 348 homes sold out of 488 reported auctions. Brisbane landed on a weaker 54 percent, with 29 out of 53 homes selling at auction. In Adelaide, the clearance rate was 67 percent, while Canberra saw a 73 percent clearance rate.