Auction House records highest number of entries to date

Auction House has reported the highest number of monthly entries for the first time in its eleven-year history.

Its October catalogues have already recorded 810 properties, making this the first time that it has ever exceeded the 800-lot milestone in any given month.

This performance is matched by the group’s sales in September, when Auction House sold 425 lots from 618 offered (up 7% from 397 sold in 2017) – delivering a success rate of 68.8% and raising £51.3 million in the process.

Roger Lake, founding director of Auction House, said: “Entering over 800 lots this month is both a credit to our teams and a confirmation that sellers prefer our policy of selling local property to local and regional buyers through nearby auction rooms.”

Regional buyers don’t seem to be deterred from recent gloomy financial forecasts in the media, with Auction House seeing enthusiastic people looking beyond Brexit and anticipating a shortage of homes in the UK. Such people are optimistic and tend to take a long-term view, according to Lake.

He also suggested that concerns about the wider economy are prompting some people to consider selling sooner rather than later.

“The truth is that the political climate is already uncertain and is likely to remain so for a while longer. For that reason, we would advise sellers with concerns about the post-Brexit marketplace to list their properties in our auctions before the end of the year,” he explained.

“With that in mind, we have over 40 auctions lined up in November and December, which present an ideal opportunity to sell this year – not only before the final stages of Brexit play themselves out, but also before the worst weather of the winter takes its toll.”