Auction
House, the UK’s most prolific property auctioneer – operating as Auction House Loveitts
in Coventry and Warwickshire - is reporting a massive 531 sales during
September 2019; the highest number of monthly lots ever sold in the group’s 12
year history.
The sales
were produced from a massive 688 lots offered - a success rate of 77%, and
raising almost £55m (£54,944,914) in the process.
Commenting
on the figures, Sally Smith, Auctioneer and Director said: “This is another
huge success story for Auction House. For a property auctioneer to sell over
500 lots in a single month is a major achievement. We have been busy during the
summer putting together our biggest collection of entries, and these have
attracted multiple buyers, despite the political machinations over the UK’s
role in Europe.”
At the end
of Q3, Auction House total sales were 2,796 lots from 3,623 offered - up an
impressive 8.2% year on year. The figures represent an average success rate of
77.2% and a cumulative sales value of over £320m (£321,296,573).
Sally
Smith added: “The distraction of Brexit doesn’t yet seem to have curtailed
the Auction House performance. The 25 auctions that we held in September across
England, Scotland and Wales were well attended, and competitive bidding
achieved some strong individual sales prices too.
“Certainly
sellers in most parts of the country are anxious to sell sooner rather than
later, and auction delivers faster results. We do detect urgency in the
market and more private instructions are entering our catalogues. Selling
through estate agents is a lengthy, uncertain process – the alternative is the
speedy, certain method of auction. So my message to sellers is if you want or
need to sell and complete this calendar year then you will have to choose
auction because private treaty simply won’t be able to deliver.”
Sally
Smith says that whilst auction isn’t perfect for all properties, the group’s
mix of sales is broadening to include good condition flats and houses as well
as rental and owner/occupier stock. Any property that will benefit from
improvement is ideal for auction, as well as anything which is vacant or with
tenants in residence. There is also an appetite for land, commercial and
mixed-use properties in most areas.
However, she
also emphasises that she would expect the market to tighten, with the
possibility that a stock shortage may start to have an impact on the market as
the end of the year approaches. She explained: “Whilst buyers remain eager,
some sellers may decide to sit on their hands until the political situation in
the country becomes clearer.
“Without
doubt, we are in challenging times and can’t expect auctions to be completely
exempt from the impact of Brexit. So price remains the key driver, and our
mantra of ‘guide low to achieve high’ is particularly true in the current
climate.”