Property market still quiet

A recovery in auctions may have to wait until the new year with weekend clearance rates once again failing to record any sizeable improvement.

In Sydney the clearance rate picked up 4 per cent from the week earlier to 46 per cent but remained 13.8 per cent down from the same weekend last year, according to Australian Property Monitors.

In Melbourne 48 per cent of properties up for auction sold, just one per cent better than the previous weekend and considerably lower than the 78 per cent recorded in 2007.

In the smaller markets of Brisbane and Adelaide, just 23 and 37 per cent respectively of homes up for auction sold.

With the Christmas and New Year holiday period just around the corner, activity is now expected to remain weak until February.