Activity at iamsold surpassing pre-lockdown levels

UK property auctioneer, iamsold, has reported that it has beaten its sales performance on this time last year, citing auctions as the way forward for buyers looking for quick, safe and secure ways to move home.

Related topics:  Auctions
Property Reporter
1st July 2020
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According to the firm, it has seen a dramatic surge in sales and online viewings since the beginning of June, following the Government’s lifting of restrictions on the industry to get the UK moving again.

Compared to June 2019, sales are up by 20% and viewings are up by 22%, as more estate agents are utilising online auction to meet clients’ changing needs post-lockdown.

The sudden need to move for many comes as a result of lifestyle changes due to Covid-19, as people look to relocate for work, sell second homes or search for a home more fit for purpose with office space, a garden and parks nearby being top of many wish lists.

Another positive trend reported by the company shows that homes are continuing to sell faster at auction this year compared to 2019, by almost 50% on average. This still applied throughout lockdown, while the online auctions market was able to safely trade and continue to sell properties.

Jamie Cooke, managing director of iamsold, said: “It’s really encouraging to see this spike in activity. Our estate agent partners are reporting activity levels between 50 to 100 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels, and they are feeding back that market appraisals are on the rise so further growth is set to come. A significant trend is that those requesting market appraisals are what we would classify as non-discretionary sellers in the main, who need to sell and are not just testing the market. This could be people needing to downsize, relocate to be near family or indeed separations leading to the sale of the family home.

“Our feeling is that non-discretionary sales will be a significant proportion of opportunity seen in the coming months, and as a result, we are gearing up for a busy summer as we support our agents by delivering a fast and secure way for their clients to buy and sell property through bespoke online auctions. Many industry commentators believe that Covid-19 will create further delays and uncertainty in the private treaty transactional process. Whilst we have been impacted, our average completion time is currently 52 days which is still around half the time of a private treaty sale.

“Although MMoA is a quick, hassle-free, safe and secure way to buy or sell, it’s little known amongst the public, with just over a quarter of the UK homeowners we surveyed recently** aware of it. With the expected rise in non-discretionary sellers and people’s willingness and confidence to do more online, we’re finding that MMoA has never been a more valuable solution for our agents to go to their clients with.”

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