Strettons has raised almost £13.5m, including post-auction sales, on the back of an 88% success rate in what was the firm’s third auction of the year.

The sale, which was held at the Grand Connaught Rooms in central London last week, saw 42 of the 48 lots offered, sold under the hammer, including of a freehold pair of semi-detached houses and land with development potential in Ilford, Essex, which sold for £1.5m.

Also attracting the interest of developers was a freehold vacant site with planning permission for five houses in Dagenham which sold for £720,000.

Despite the 3% stamp duty penalty on additional homes and the changes to landlord’s mortgage tax relief, the hammer came down on a number of residential properties which were acquired by buy-to-let investors, with an average gross yield of about 4.5% for residential properties.

When it came to commercial properties, which realised an average gross yield of around 6.75%, a freehold commercial investment in Edgware, consisting of a shop and two flats, proved particularly popular with investors, and following a flurry of bids eventually sold for £735,000. Meanwhile, on the other side of London, a long leasehold commercial investment in Greenwich sold for £275,000.

Echoing their performance from Strettons’ March auction, ground rent investments continue to attract interest. 100% of ground rents available on the day were sold, several for significantly above the guide price.  

Philip Waterfield, Strettons director, said: “Our May sale marked 80 years since our first auction in 1937 and I am delighted that we have celebrated that with our highest total of 2017. I am also pleased that we have beaten the average success rate for London auction houses for our second auction in a row and I am looking forward to continuing this success at our next sale in July.”