According to their figures, the firm sold 445 properties via the Modern Method of Auction (MMoA) last month, up 33% year-on-year.
The volume of viewings was also up by 6% and the number of bids increased by 72% compared to the same period last year, as activity in the buoyant post-lockdown market has surged.
This rise comes as there is a sudden need to sell for many due to lifestyle changes as a direct impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, while the introduction of the Stamp Duty holiday is already boosting the market four weeks after launching.
The types of buyers purchasing auction properties remained varied, with the majority purchasing for their own occupancy (39%), contradictory to many misconceptions that auction is only for investment buyers. With the highest sale price achieved in the month at £1.6m for a 6-bed cottage in East Wellow Romsey, this also dispels the myth that only lower value properties are sold at auction.
Jamie Cooke, managing director at iamsold, commented: “We’ve never seen activity in the market spike as quickly as this, and our team has responded incredibly to support our network of Partner Agents.
“Coming out of lockdown agents saw a significant rise in non-discretionary sellers, which is accountable for a large proportion of the activity we are seeing at the moment. The market is also experiencing two seasons in one, with vendors who felt uncertain about moving in spring taking action now. Most of these vendors are needing quick sales more than ever, and as MMoA is centred around what’s best for the circumstances of the seller, it’s making this possible.
“Vendors taking advantage of the Stamp Duty holiday and movers wanting to be settled in a new property in time for Christmas are also boosting the market. As the average completion time of a traditional Private Treaty sale has slipped to around 19 weeks, auction is helping agents provide a solution to meet these sales deadlines, and at the same time improve their cash flow with seven-day payments after SSTC available.
“The industry isn’t out of the woods but we expect heading into the autumn, which is traditionally a strong period for us at iamsold, that the Stamp Duty holiday will help to maintain the market as the pent-up demand at the moment begins to steady.”
