In the June 2021 quarter, 31,605 homes were taken to auction across all Australian capital cities, according to CoreLogic's Auction Market Review.
This is the greatest number since December 2017, which recorded 32,408 capital city auctions.
This 'strong result' contrasts with June 2020 where 13,783 auctions were held across all Australian capital cities.
Figures from the June 2020 quarter were "significantly lower" due to the tighter COVID-19 social distancing and movement restrictions that were in place at the time, including a temporary ban of on-site and in-person property inspections.
Eliza Owen, CoreLogic's Head of Research, attributed the results to the "strong housing market conditions".
"A combined capital city clearance rate of 75.7% sits well above the historic average clearance rate of 63.5%," Ms Owen said.
Source: CoreLogic
Despite the "strong result", Ms Owen stated that the clearance rate has been easing since the March quarter, which had an 80% clearance rate.
"This reflects a broader loss of momentum in the Australian housing market, as affordability constraints set in, and March looks to be a peak period of growth for the current cycle," she said.
Capital city highlights - Canberra heats up
The CoreLogic review revealed the auction clearance rates and volumes for each capital city.
The capital city with the highest clearance rate was Canberra, with an 88.3% clearance rate from the 1,194 auctions held in the June quarter 2021.
Canberra had the highest clearance rate for 21 out of 24 weeks in 2021, according to CoreLogic's figures.
"High demand of housing in Canberra has stemmed from a relatively tight labour market and containment of COVID-19, against a backdrop of low mortgage rates and relatively low listing volumes," Ms Owen said.
Perth had the lowest clearance rate, 53.5%, out of an auction volume of 273.
Melbourne and Sydney continued to lead the overall auction tally, despite the onset of lockdowns affecting those cities through May and June.
Sydney had a clearance rate of 78.4% with 12,780 auctions held; Melbourne cleared 73.3% out of 13,693 auctions held; Brisbane had a 69.6% clearance rate out of 1,896 auctions held; Adelaide cleared 76.7% of the 1,737 auctions held; and Tasmania had a clearance rate of 71.9% from 32 auctions.
Image by Pat Whelen on Unsplash
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