Optimism is good, and certainly there are more spaces this time, but you should know that 2174 was definitely filled in May, not July last year.
The confusion arises because it takes time to process the apps in SydneyNS, so the last person on the forums from 2174 to receive PER had got their application delivered to SydneyNS on 30 May 2013, and those after that got their applications back in the post. Despite this, the tracking page on the CIC website still said gave the appearance of spaces for 2174 during July and August. Towards the end of August they then reported the cap was full.
So in my case (24 May applicant) I got PER on 8 August, and up until that time my app was not being counted for the CAP, it was just in a big pile of paperwork somewhere waiting to be handled. Once they started handling it (at the beginning of August), CIC knew they had one more 2174 to add to the 200 or so applications they had counted already.
You might be wondering why they don't just count the envelopes as they come in, but the answer is that they only count "completed applications", which is good.
Actually you can see the same affect as last year already because the programme has been open for a week and there are no places reported taken from the caps yet. In the words of CIC:
"Due to the large number of applications we get, we cannot check that each one is complete on the same day it gets to the office. The numbers on this page are updated at least once a week, but are only a guide. There is no guarantee that an application sent in now will fall within the cap by the time it gets to the Centralized Intake Office."
Anyway, for more information on what happened last year, check the spreadsheet in my signature (there are several tabs so have a browse around).
All the best