Auction roundup – is spring the ultimate season for auctions?

This week continues the trend of successful property auctions, with SDL Property Auctions reporting exciting results for its March sale and iamproperty celebrating its busiest month yet. Meanwhile, Sutton Kersh looks back at a successful April auction and anticipates its upcoming sale.

Home movers benefit from the security of SDL Property Auctions

SDL Property Auctions witnessed properties of all shapes, sizes and types go under the hammer at its March sale, reinforcing buyers’ growing appetite for auctions.

This follows recent news warning of urgent action being needed to combat 50,000 property transaction fall-throughs so far this year.

After a month of Timed Auction sales, March came to an exciting climax with the National Property Auction and a catalogue of over 200 lots being offered in the live-streamed event, with great results being achieved across the UK.

The auction began with the sale of 71 Leopold Avenue in Birmingham, a three bedroom semi-detached property in need of refurbishment and modernisation. With a guide price of £119,000-plus, plus fees, there was a flurry of bidders interested in the investment opportunity, and the property eventually sold for £290,000.

In Derby, there was also an excellent result achieved for 89 Worcester Crescent, a semi-detached property straight out of the 1960s. In need of full refurbishment, this achieved a final sales price of £140,000 after being offered at a guide price of £80,000-plus, plus fees. Still retaining a number of 1960s design elements, this three bedroomed house could easily become a lovely family home.

Also in Derbyshire, this time in Alvaston, there was another fantastic result achieved, this time in partnership with Hannells Estate Agents. 23 Bracknell Drive sold for £131,500 and had been offered at guide price of £95,000-plus, plus fees. Originally a three bedroomed property, the semi-detached bungalow sits on a generous plot with ample space, making it a great development opportunity for the lucky buyer to make into a fantastic home.

The month saw some excellent Timed Auction results too. A plot of land at Northrepps Cromer High Station was sold on behalf of Norfolk County Council and saw highly competitive online bidding, with over 100 bids being placed over the course of 4 days – 88 of which were on final day of the auction. The plot itself, which extends to 2.39 acres has potential for development (subject to planning consents) and reached a final sales figure of £182,500 off the original guide price of £40,000 plus fees.

There was also exciting bidding activity to be found with the sale of Hazeldine in Stoke-on-Trent, achieved in partnership with James Du Pavey in Stone. With a guide price of £275,000-plus, plus fees, this detached period home unfortunately suffered fire damage, and after 63 bids were placed on the closing day of the auction, sold for £321,000.

Andrew Parker, managing director and auctioneer, comments: “It’s fantastic to see the variety of results we’ve been able to achieve this month for buyers and sellers across the UK. We’re proud to be able to offer property sales by auction that continue to benefit from a less than 1% fall-through rate, offering safety and security to our customers when they need it most.”

April’s National Property Auction takes place on Thursday April 28, being closely followed by the live-streamed Knight Frank Auction on Thursday May 12.

Anyone looking to sell their property by auction, either in the live-streamed National Property Auction or in a Timed Auction online can get in touch with the SDL Property Auctions team on 0800 046 5454 or visit the website to find out more.

Record-breaker – iamsold sells £107m worth of property in March

Residential property auctioneer iamsold has reported a record-breaking month of success with £107.7 million worth of property sold by their Partner Agents in March alone.

This bumper month marks 35% growth in comparison to the same period in 2021. The online auctioneer’s Partner Agent Network also had over 1,000 contract completions in March, making for the busiest month to date.

The success comes with the growing number of Estate Agent branches choosing to work with the Group, and more sellers choosing auction to benefit from a fast, secure and transparent method of sale.

Jamie Cooke, managing director of iamsold says: “It’s so encouraging to see auction continue to rise in popularity. We have seen a continued increase in consumer confidence and awareness, which is evident in the number of bids we have seen across the last 12 months and certainly this quarter, where we are hitting record figures each month.”

“Auction is a win-win for buyers and sellers in the current market, from the continued rise in sales prices achieved at auction to the timescale for completion, we’re seeing auction really stand up in the market as an option for more and more people.”

He adds: “Today’s buyers and sellers want more and being offered choice which matches their individual circumstances is just part of that.”

Strong results for Sutton Kersh spring auction

Sutton Kersh Auctions held its Spring auction on Thursday April 7 which saw the auctioneer selling over £9.3 million worth of property.

Over 500 people were registered to bid at the event, and it was watched by hundreds of people across the country.

The team sold over £3.5 million worth of property prior to the live-streamed event, which was around a quarter of their Lots. The auction predominantly consisted of vacant residential properties and residential investment opportunities.

The first Lot offered on the day was a three-bed mid-terraced property in the L11 area of Liverpool, which needed a full scheme of refurbishment works. It had a guide of £70,000 and sold for £101,000 on the day.

Cathy Holt, associate director, comments: “We offered a significant number of vacant and residential investment properties in this auction and once again they were exceptionally popular both prior to auction and on the day.”

Judging by the demand, Holt says Liverpool is still proving to be a popular city to both invest and reside in, with ‘plenty of great property opportunities’ available throughout the city.

She adds: “Lot 7 is a great example of this; a three-bed mid-terraced property in L11, in need of complete refurbishment and modernisation, which sold for £25,000 over its guide price of £80,000.”

Some flats and apartments produced strong bidding wars and ended up selling for similar prices. For example, Lot 34 was a flat in Fairfield L6 with a guide of £125,000 and Lot 44 was flat in Old Swan L13 with the same guide. The former sold for £148,000 and the latter sold for just £500 less.

One particular Lot that drew a lot of interest was Lot 30, a two-bed mid-terraced house in Wavertree, which has a long-standing tenant in situ and it sold for £78,000.

Holt goes on to say: “Properties that are currently let were very popular. This is because the tenants are already in occupancy and therefore there is a guaranteed income from the properties upon completion of the sale, so they are great for investment purposes.”

Lot 66, a duplex apartment within a grade II listed building located in L17, a popular suburb in South Liverpool, saw an exceptionally high number of bidders register for it. It had a guide price of £115,000 and sold for £137,000.

One trend Sutton Kersh has seen is an increasing number of people investing in property on the outskirts of the city centre, hence the high demand for redevelopment and residential properties here. Lot 78, a two-bed mid-terrace house in need of refurbishment on Grantham Street in L6, sold for £24,500 over its guide price of £60,000, which was one of many reinforcing this trend.

Sutton Kersh will be holding its next auction on May 26 2022.