According to their figures, they have offered 2,533 auction lots so far this year (up from 2,480 in 2016) at 125 sales around the country, with a healthy success rate of 74.9%.
Roger Lake, Auction House Founding Director, said: “These figures prove that auction properties are still in great demand and the appeal of auctions as the quickest method of sale is strengthening. Auctions have been less affected by the recent downturn than other sectors because they involve a faster process and their pricing better reflects market conditions.
Whilst we have seen success rates drop slightly over the summer months as sentiment has declined, we still sold 361 lots in July alone, which takes our total number of sales this year up to 1,897. No other property auctioneer in the country can even approach these sorts of figures.”
Auction House has also noticed an increased number of former churches and chapels entered into its auctions, many of them with planning already in place. There have been ten across the UK so far this year – in Wales, Essex, Hampshire, Bedfordshire, and Cumbria, guided at prices from £15,000 to £200,000. Another three are coming under the hammer next month in Devon and West Yorkshire - including St Paul’s Church overlooking the town of Denholme on 6 September, being offered at a guide of £80,000 to £90,000.
Roger added: “The range of properties on our books is growing ever wider and the categories of buyers and sellers are diversifying too.
Certainly we’re seeing more private sellers coming to us, attracted by the certainty of the auction process in a climate where chain transactions are the cause of so many problems and delays. This also means that many more ready buyers – including first timers - are now purchasing at auction using mortgages or specialist finance, and often buying for owner occupation.
With this in mind, we expect activity levels to rise again from the autumn. Indeed, our September catalogues are already starting to fill.”
