Leading property auctioneer Auction House – operating as Loveitts
Auction House in Coventry and Warwickshire - has applauded the resilience and
ingenuity demonstrated throughout the sector over the last 18 months.
Sally Smith, Auctioneer and Director says
that since the beginning of the pandemic the industry has moved heaven and
earth to continue to work for their vendor and buyer clients. This has involved
embracing cutting edge technology which has powered the entire industry forward
by at least five to ten years and has changed the way auctioneers conduct their
businesses forever.
She
explains: “Before Covid, all property auctions were conducted in room and there
was a commonly held belief that buyers would never acquire properties by bidding
for them online and vendors would never be prepared to offer their properties
for sale in such a way. How wrong we were! Today, we see buying and selling
properties via livestream and online auctions commonplace and Auction House for
example are seeing vastly increased levels of engagement from buyers and
sellers across the world.
“As the
pandemic begins to come under control and we all get used to living with Covid,
some auctioneers are considering a return to the room. Irrespective of this,
auctions will still be very different to 18 months ago, since the offering will
be a hybrid of in-room and livestream – something which was never contemplated
just 18 months ago.
“Auction
House has been in the vanguard of companies adapting to the new environment we
all now live in, and by offering livestream and online auctions for the last 18
months have seen very impressive volumes of sales with £600 million of property
forecasted to be sold over the last 12 months alone!”
As well as
embracing new technology, companies across the sector have learnt to be nimble
on their feet and adapt to ever changing circumstances – for example Auction
House Bedfordshire were planning a hybrid in-room / livestream auction in
Milton Keynes this month and within days of the event were informed the hotel
was to be used as a vaccine centre and that their booking was cancelled. Within
hours a new venue had been booked and their marketing department swung into
action and ensured their clients had been informed.
The
Auction House success story continued through November, meaning that the group
has now offered 3,839 properties so far this year, successfully selling 3,180
of them – a success rate of 82.8%, and raising almost £535m (£534,936,279) in
the process – tantalisingly close to the £600 million forecast.
Sally
Smith added: “Versatility and the ability to be
adaptable are just as important as cutting-edge technology and this is
something the Brits specialise in.
“Auction
House is one of many businesses across the country which has proved that it can
rise to the challenge and can become inventive and entrepreneurial. We should
be proud of what has been achieved and look forward to 2022 with confidence”.