The UK’s largest property auctioneer – operating as Loveitts
Auction House in Coventry and Warwickshire - says that there is now clear
evidence of the impact that the global Coronavirus pandemic has had on the auction
market, as the group sees an all-time record for the annual amount of money it
has raised, as well as a dramatic shift in its website demographic.
Auction House’s own figures indicate
that compared to the whole of pre-Covid 2019, money raised in 2021 jumped by
over a third (37.9%) from £439,705,781 to over £600 million (£606,142,854) – an
increase of £166.4m.
Meanwhile, analysis shows that not
only does the Auction House website have more users (from 1.6m in 2019 to 2.4m
now), a greater proportion of younger people are accessing the group’s services
online. Whilst use by the 55-64 year old age group has dropped by 19%, there
has been a 42% increase in the number of 25-34 year olds and an incredible 441%
increase in the amount of 18-24 year olds getting involved.
Commenting on the figures, Sally
Smith, Auctioneer and Director said: “Without doubt, the pandemic has created
a seismic shift in how the market operates, with impacts which will probably
last forever. Lockdowns and social distancing mean that we have had to focus on
a mixture of livestream and online auctions, which itself has turbo-boosted
involvement by a younger demographic.
In December alone, Auction House
offered 489 lots and sold 418 of them – a spectacular success rate of 85.5%,
raising £69,145,075 in the process.
Sally added: “We were
the only traditional, non-conditional UK property auctioneer to successfully
sell over 3,600 lots last year – a 9% rise compared to 2020 and raising a total
which was up year on year by over 35% - an increase of £158.8m.
“Looking
ahead to 2022, we fully expect the number of properties going under the hammer
to rise, especially with the increase in distressed stock hitting the market because lenders will
continue disposing of assets after an enforced interval, now that the courts
have re-opened.
“This is likely to attract more
buyers to the market – especially from a younger demographic who will reach out
to auction because they want the transparency and certainty of the process and
don’t want to be stuck in a chain, as is still regularly happening in the world
of private treaty sales.
“Even as restrictions lift in the
coming months, we think that now people have experienced the ease and comfort
of buying property in a livestream or online auction, they will want to continue
doing so from the comfort of the home or place of work.
“Considering all this – and with a
new and improved website on the way later in the year - we have every
expectation that for Auction House, 2022 is going to be another spectacular
year!”