Capital city auction activity rose by almost 13% in the past week with 2,159 homes put under the hammer.

Despite the increase in properties taken to auction, CoreLogic says preliminary clearance rates are down by 3.6% on the previous week at 60.1%.

Sydney had its busiest auction week since last September with 786 homes offered for auction and a clearance rate of 60.9%.

Activity increased in Melbourne, with 920 homes taken to auction and a clearance rate of 60.1%, the sixteenth consecutive week of a clearance rate in excess of 60%.

Brisbane auction activity as up by a third (31.5%) on last week, with 171 properties offered for auction and a clearance rate of 41.8%.

Adelaide’s activity was down slightly with 149 auctions and a clearance rate of 68.6% while Canberra was steady with 112 auctions and a clearance rate of 59.7%

CoreLogic’s Tim Lawless says the figures suggest sellers are still cautious about attracting bidders in the current market.