SDL Auctions Bigwood’s May auction, held at Aston Villa FC’s Villa Park ground, raised more than £16.4 million, driven by strong bidding for residential lots in a crowded auction room.

“Our third auction of the year in Birmingham sold 100% of lots offered by Birmingham City Council and successfully sold 100% of ground rents,” Gurpreet Bassi, head of residential auctions, commented. 

The House on the Hill in Little Aston, Sutton Coldfield was one of the most popular properties, and sold prior to the auction. A substantial freehold detached property with planning permission to be redeveloped to create a 22 bedroom care facility, it had a guide price of more than £700,00 and sold for just over £1.1 million. 

“We were inundated with requests for viewings and had several offers on this property,” Bassi said. “We were very pleased with the result.”

At the auction itself, a three bedroom, semi-detached home in Halesowen was typical of the competitive bidding seen in the auction room, with the property offered at a guide price in excess of £70,000 and sold for £171,000.

Elsewhere, a three bedroom, end of terrace house in Coventry achieved almost three times its guide price. It had a guide price of £50,000 and sold for £149,000.

Meanwhile, a four bedroom, semi-detached house in Willenhall had a guide price of more than £75,000, with the hammer finally falling for £158,000. And a semi-detached three bedroom abode in Wolverhampton, which had a guide price of £19,000-£24,000, sold for £97,000.

“We raised over £16.4 million in our May auction and achieved an 85% success rate which bodes well for our next auction where we expect another exciting catalogue to bring in eager buyers,” Bassi added.

The next SDL Auctions Bigwood auction is held at Aston Villa FC in Birmingham on Wednesday 18 July.