Auction roundup – as we enter another year like no other…

Auction roundup – as we enter another year like no other…


Todays other news
House prices rising sustainably (at least until the Budget…)...
Land close to Lake District with plans for 32 homes...
Unusual commercial lots under the hammer next week...
Methodist church ministers’ houses under the hammer at auction...


In the first auction roundup of 2022, PIT takes a look at the latest auction news; from iamproperty’s successful year with MMoA, a new exciting appointment for NAVA Propertymark, Auction House’s all-time record amidst the changing market, and a gingerbread house for sale with Brown&Co.

£804m worth of property sold by MMoA at iamproperty

The iamproperty Group ended 2021 with record-breaking results, following a ‘transformative’ year for the property market and the increased popularity of the Modern Method of Auction (MMoA).

Its auction service iamsold released its 2021 auction figures, which show it raised over £804 million in capital value from properties sold by the MMoA.

The auction specialist’s 12-month property sales represent an increase of almost 54% on the previous year for auction transactions. According to the group, the monumental year for auction has benefitted its Partner Agent network, with over £17 million in fees paid to Partner Agents across the UK. 

Throughout 2021 the business continued to grow their Partner network, as more agents seek to offer choice to their clients, and more consumers become aware of the benefits auction can offer. Recent key wins include their partnership across all four brands of Arun Estates and a multi-service partnership with eXp UK.

Jamie Cooke, managing director of iamsold, states: “Whilst we acknowledge that it was a year of unique market conditions with unprecedented demand and low stock levels, it was hugely pleasing to see so many of our Partner Agents turn to auction in these buoyant conditions.”

“Consumers are being offered more options to match their circumstances and to help sellers maximise the value of their home through competitive bidding in a clear and transparent way. This goes a long way in cementing the fact that auction in the residential sector has a key role to play in all market conditions.”

iamsold sold over 5,000 properties last year with the average selling price increasing by 19% in 2021, when compared with the 2020 average, which Cooke says proves the real versatility of the types of properties that can be secured through auction.

He adds: “The speed at which we can progress sales through to completion has proven extremely attractive to buyers and sellers, especially whilst Private Treaty completion timescales remain higher than ever.”

“Buyers and sellers are also able to benefit from a 95% completion success rate, demonstrating how auction provides enhanced speed and security.”

Fast and reliable completions have always been high on the list of buyer and seller priorities, and auction is emerging as the solution in face of high fall-through rates across the UK. Data from the last three months of 2021 shows that the return to normal market conditions meant 34% of property sales in England and Wales fell through before completion in the final quarter of last year.

Cooke continues: “As we move into 2022, the challenge for estate agents will be to differentiate themselves from the competition. Stock is likely to remain low and winning instructions will be more difficult. Adopting tech and offering alternative methods of sale that give consumers more choice, can be that silver bullet for agents.”

“We’re incredibly proud of our team and everything we have achieved this year, but none of that would be possible without the support of our Partner Agents and their trust in our proposition. We’ve shared this success with them and we’re gearing up to start 2022 on a high.”

The impressive figures follow a year of good news for iamsold, which included an industry-first integration with Rightmove in April 2021, topping the Essential Information Group’s (EIG) annual auctioneer league table and an award win at the prestigious ESTAS for ‘Supplier of the Year – Auction’.

New appointment to NAVA committee for Propertymark

Stuart Collar-Brown, co-founder and director of online property specialists My Auction, has been appointed to the NAVA committee for Propertymark.

Collar-Brown is a qualified auctioneer with 18 years’ experience in the residential property market and raised over £5 million for his clients in the last 12 months. He was awarded the NAVA Novice Auctioneer of the Year in 2014 and was Runner-Up for the NFoPP Technical Award in Real Property Auctioneering in 2015.

Recent data shows that the property auction market is growing exponentially with EIG Property Auctions reporting a 15% increase in the amount raised from property auctions compared to this time last year.

The data also shows variations regionally with the South West and North East recording significant increases with a 51% and 47% rise respectively in total money raised in October this year compared with 2020 – while London saw a 10% reduction.

In his role, Collar-Brown will work with fellow committee members to help maintain the highest professional standards in the industry as more buyers and sellers recognise the benefits that auctions can offer, opening the market up to a much wider audience.

Commenting on his appointment, Collar-Brown says: “We’re seeing more buyers and sellers looking at auctions as a viable route to sale than ever before.”

“With this increased momentum building it is imperative that we work together as an industry to ensure that we are well placed to lead on the opportunities for our sector that this presents, and I am delighted to be joining the committee at this important time.”

Nathan Emerson, Propertymark CEO, adds: “Stuart’s extensive experience as an auctioneer and deep knowledge of the residential property market will be invaluable in supporting and overseeing our strategy and growth ambitions to ensure that the industry continues to grow while upholding the highest professional standards. We look forward to working alongside him.”

Auction House hits all-time record after ‘seismic shift’ in the market

Auction House saw an all-time record for the annual amount of money raised and a dramatic shift in its website demographic – both ‘clear evidence’ of the impact the Covid pandemic has had on the market.

The auctioneer’s own figures indicate that compared to the whole of pre-Covid 2019, money raised in 2021 jumped by 37.9% from £439,705,781 to over £600 million – an increase of £166.4 million.

Meanwhile, analysis shows the Auction House website has more users (from 1.6 million in 2019 to 2.4 million now), and a greater proportion of younger people are accessing the group’s services online.

Whilst use by the 55-64-year-old age group has dropped by 19%, there has been a 42% increase in the number of 25-34-year-olds and a whopping 441% increase in the amount of 18-24-year-olds getting involved.

Commenting on the figures, Auction House managing director Jeremy Prior says: “Without doubt, the pandemic has created a seismic shift in how the market operates, with impacts which will probably last forever. Lockdowns and social distancing mean that we have had to focus on a mixture of live stream and online auctions, which itself has turbo-boosted involvement by a younger demographic.”

In December alone, Auction House offered 489 lots and sold 418 of them – a spectacular success rate of 85.5%, raising £69,145,075 in the process.

Prior adds: “We were the only traditional, non-conditional UK property auctioneer to successfully sell over 3,600 lots last year – a 9% rise compared to 2020 and raising a total which was up year on year by over 35% – an increase of £158.8 million.” 

Looking ahead to 2022, Prior expects the number of properties going under the hammer to rise, especially with the increase in distressed stock hitting the market because lenders will continue disposing of assets after an enforced interval, now that the courts have re-opened.

“This is likely to attract more buyers to the market – especially from a younger demographic who will reach out to auction because they want the transparency and certainty of the process and don’t want to be stuck in a chain, as is still regularly happening in the world of private treaty sales,” he continues.

“Even as restrictions lift in the coming months, we think that now people have experienced the ease and comfort of buying property in a live stream or online auction, they will want to continue doing so from the comfort of the home or place of work.”

“Considering all this – and with a new and improved website on the way later in the year – we have every expectation that for Auction House, 2022 is going to be another spectacular year!”

Quirky ‘gingerbread’ home for sale at auction

A three-storey property in ‘Sunny Hunny’ Hunstanton, partly made from carrstone, is coming under the hammer for a guide price of £375,000-£425,000.

The lot, partly built from the stone commonly known as ‘gingerbread’ because of its orangey textured appearance, is for sale in Brown&Co’s online auction next month.

Coming under the virtual hammer on February 9 is 34, Greevegate together with 48 A, B and C and 50 and 50a Church Street.

The property has been divided into spacious retail/storage space on the ground floor and five separate self-contained one and two-bedroom flats above and to the rear which are situated over the two upper floors.

Presently, all five flats are let, producing an income of approaching £37,000 per annum, subject to final confirmation.

The ground floor commercial unit is currently unoccupied, and the potential exists to convert this to two further residential units, subject to the necessary planning consents.

Outside there is parking for several vehicles and one of the flats has access to a roof terrace which has fabulous views over the town’s rooftops.

Trevor Blythe, auction manager at Brown&Co, says: “The whole premises is in need of improvement and updating. Other opportunities exist, subject to planning consent, to reconfigure the property to provide one substantial family dwelling or convert to a boutique-style hotel.”

“Whatever is decided the opportunity exists to purchase a lucrative investment opportunity, private home or business venture.”

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