The auction market remains cool this winter, but strong results are still being recorded when a highly desirable property comes to market.

Volumes were thin last week, with 1,612 properties going under the hammer, down from 1,766 the previous week, but up from 1,391 for the same week last year.

The preliminary clearance rate for last week was 72.4 per cent, according to CoreLogic. The final clearance rate for the previous week was 68.4 percent, up from the year's low of 66.5 per cent recorded three weeks ago.

In Brisbane, 116 properties went to auction, and a clearance rate of 44.8 per cent was recorded, according to CoreLogic.

A vacant block of land, which sold for $510,000 last year, sold for $691,000, with around 80 people turning up to the auction and six registered bidders.

The property - Lot 55 Mckie Crescent - is in the Minnippi Estate at Cannon Hill, an estate with large blocks in a 'nature zone' but still considered inner-city Brisbane. The estate proved to be extremely popular when it went to market last year, with all blocks selling within 48 hours. 

Place Estate Agent Shane Hicks said there was strong interest, with buyers who missed out when the Minnippi Estate first opened given another chance to buy.

“It was an incredibly suspenseful auction," he said. "With six registered bidders, it came down to three families carrying out $1,000 increments before it finally sold under the hammer to a family moving from McKenzie to be closer to the CBD."

Sydney recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 72.9 per cent from 600 auctions. At this time last year, Sydney recorded only 470 auctions, but a higher clearance rate of 74.9 per cent, according to CoreLogic data.

Source: CoreLogic.

A four-bedroom terrace house with a valuable and rare parking space in Paddington at 36 Glenmore Road, sold at auction for $4 million through Jean Jarman of Ray White Paddington.

View the listing for 36 Glenmore Road, Paddington, on Luxury List.

REINSW President John Cunningham told SCHWARTZWILLIAMS, "Another strong showing from the Sydney auction market with a solid 70 per cent plus result from a very good number of results submitted."

Cunningham said the final result is likely to be in the high 60s. He said properties are selling quickly.

"The interesting thing about this latest result is that, despite a significant increase in stock levels across Sydney in the past month, we are still seeing days on market being less than 30 days in most areas."

Cunningham said buying interest is still strong, and though not at the level we've seen over the past few years, it's returning to more sustainable levels.

"Buyers are not holding back as much as was expected when the market started showing signs of an adjustment, so it really does indicate that it is business as usual, but not the usual of the past four years, its just back to the normal behaviour of our strong Sydney market."

In Melbourne, REIV data shows that 522 auctions were held last week, with a preliminary clearance rate of 79 per cent.

REIV acting president Richard Simpson told SCHWARTZWILLIAMS that volumes were down slightly on the same time last year, and the clearance rate was up one percentage point on 2016 figures.

“Melbourne’s middle suburbs continue to dominate the city’s auction market with 154 sales under the hammer, led by Reservoir, Mount Waverley and Greensborough with 11, 10 and nine sales respectively,” said Simpson.

“Vendors across the city are experiencing solid results under the hammer at present with the year-to-date clearance rate currently sitting at 79 per cent – on par with the same time in 2015.”

Read more about auction results:

Auction clearance rates stuck in 60s for five weeks as chill sets in

Weekend auctions litmus test of new first-home-buyer benefits

Winter chill hits auction clearance rates