Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank explores why sales in London's prime property market have been slow out of the blocks this year.

The UK auction house raised over £52m in its February residential auction

Though normally a quiet period for auction sales, January 2024 has been classed as the busiest-ever January in property auction history, according to Essential Information Group data.

The UK auctioneer has reported selling 616 lots during the month and raising a total of over £83 million - a February record for the company.

The perceived reduction in Local Authority Search turnaround times is simply down to a loss of buyer demand, according to new research.

Zoopla predicts that the increase in sales market activity is likely to continue with a 10% rise in home sales expected during 2024 against 2023.

£154.7bn worth of property was sold across England during 2023, an annual reduction of £141bn.

A quarter of homebuyers polled in a new survey have confessed that they turned to backhanders to secure their dream homes.

January 2024 has become the busiest ever for UK property auctions

Allsop's latest auction saw 260 lots sold representing a success rate of 85%