Reserve prices were smashed and the national auction clearance rate edged towards 85 per cent at the weekend, adding heat to an already red-hot property market in which prices are rising at their fastest pace since 2003.

Sydney accounted for more than half of the 1587 scheduled auctions, with a preliminary clearance rate of 86.7 per cent, down slightly from last week’s 88.9 per cent, later revised down to a final 85.3 per cent.