Lower listing volumes on the weekend sent the nation's property clearance rate soaring to 80.8 per cent.

During the week, 1,402 auctions were held across the nation's capital cities, a significantly lower number than the 2,907 recording for the previous week, and also lower than the 1,488 recorded for the same week last year.

CoreLogic attributed the lower volumes to four states having a public holiday today.

The combined capital city clearance rate was 74.6 last week.

Sydney's preliminary clearance rate was 83.1 per cent, while Melbourne came in at 84.3 per cent. Adelaide recorded the strongest clearance in the country, with 87.0 per cent of auctions clearing on the weekend. Adelaide is a smaller market that Sydney and Melbourne, with only 54 properties being auctioned.

Greg Troughton, chief executive officer of the Real Estate Institute of South Australia told SCHWARTZWILLIAMS that Adelaide's "clearance rate outshone the rest of the country".

Troughton attributed the strong result to "Adelaide's housing affordability" compared to the eastern state cities. 

An auction at Henley Beach set the benchmark, he said, with "two eager bidders" vying for the prize home. The property sold for nearly $3,500,000, said Troughton, with the new buyers eyeing a the development opportunity with sea views.

Toughton said the market "will be interesting to watch over the coming twelve months".

Source: CoreLogic.

John Cunningham, president of the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales, told SCHWARTZWILLIAMS it was "another bumper weekend [in Sydney] with initial clearance rates over 80% again indicating no slow down in buyer activity for the sixth weekend in a row."

Cunningham said the market is in the middle of auction season. "We are in the bumper Auction season right now with four weekends left before the Easter break to see if the buying frenzy continues."

Sydney is one of the most sought-after places to live in the world, said Cunningham. "The Sydney market continues to defy reason as it firmly establishes itself as one of the most desirable places to live and work on the planet," he said.

If strong clearance rates indicate strong demand, prices are an even better indicator, and they too show Sydney and Melbourne property is red hot. In Sydney, property prices rose an eye-watering 18.4 per cent in the year to the end of February 2017, after gaining 2.6 per cent in that month alone, according to CoreLogic. In Melbourne, prices are up 13.1 per cent for the year, and 1.5 per cent for the month.

With the major banks tightening lending to investors, funding options are emerging elsewhere, either through second-tier lenders or global banks, meaning the desired dampening effect has only been short lived, and demand is ramping up again.

Visit Luxury List to view a five-bedroom house at 45 Lynnwood Parade, Templestowe Lower, which sold for $1,710,000 on the weekend.

Visit Luxury List to view a five-bedroom house at 13 Alister Street, Fitzroy North, which sold for $2,875,000 on the weekend.

Visit Luxury List to view a four-bedroom house at 26 Mabel Steet, Willoughby, which sold for $4,050,000 on the weekend.

Visit Luxury List to view a six-bedroom house at 18 Lucknow Street, Willoughby, which sold at auction on the weekend.

See also:

Auction market remains on trend

Auctions going gangbusters

Boiling weather spilled over into a hot auction market on the weekend