After a slight lull during the Easter holidays, Melbourne's auction activity picks up this weekend with 730 auctions, well ahead of last weekend's 482. Melbourne recorded a clearance rate of 73.8 per cent, only a few basis points below the 74.1 per cent recorded on the pre-Easter weekend. Mount Waverley recorded the highest numbers of auctions this weekend with 16, followed by Preston with 14, and Reservoir and East Bentleigh with 13 each.

Melbourne's numbers have already surpassed Sydney with only 624 scheduled auctions this week. Sydney auction levels remain far below those recorded during the same time last year. It reported a clearance rate of 73.7 per cent last weekend, just below the 74.1 per cent recorded on the pre-Easter weekend.

According to Andrew Wilson, Domain Group's chief economist, low interest rates continue to fuel buyer activity in both Melbourne and Sydney's housing markets. Just this week, the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to leave the official interest rates unchanged at a record low two per cent for the 11th consecutive month.

However, a cut in the rates still remains on the cards, with data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing a decline in retail sales growth, a fall in house prices, and an Australian dollar that tracks well above the preferred levels of policymakers.

Meanwhile, auction levels remained relatively steady across the remaining capital cities. Clearance rates rose in Brisbane, Adelaide, and Hobart but fell in other parts of Australia. In general, auction volumes rose higher this week across all regions except Tasmania.

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