Investors seeking to spread their risk ‘over a wider mix of property types’

A growing number of property investor are trying to establish a strategy that tempers potential losses amid heightened political and economic uncertainty by diversifying their portfolios to include a ‘wider mix of property types’, according to the head of a leading network of UK property auctioneers.

Auction House’s founding director Roger Lake reports that investors are increasingly willing to consider all sorts of properties as long as the figures stack up, with demand for commercial property investment opportunities particularly strong at the moment.

“Auction prices have rebalanced since the referendum result and buyers are now actively seeking opportunities,” said Lake. “Demand for commercial lots has increased too, as more investors look to spread their risk over a wider mix of property types.”

Auction House has enjoyed cumulative sales in 2016 of 2,873 lots to the end of November, at a success rate of 77%, and raising a total of £387m.

The group has seen a record number of lots entered into its auctions this month, with 25 auctions taking place between the 1st and 15th December, involving 679 lots – up 37% on the volume of units listed in December last year.

Lake added: “Supply has returned to normal levels over much of the country although the South East remains a challenge.

“Our northern sale rooms will be particularly busy. We have an impressive 86 lots entered into our newly-launched Auction House North West sale at Bolton’s Macron Stadium, as well as 55 in our West Yorkshire auction and 101 in our latest Cumbria/North East catalogue.

“As a result, we have a wide range of pre-Christmas bargains being offered, and are expecting well-attended auction rooms and enthusiastic bidding.”