Through their auction service iamsold, they have helped Partner Agents to sell 5,633 properties over the last 12 months.
Monthly sales have almost doubled, with 388 properties sold in July 2021 up to 620 sold in June 2022. Capital value raised in a single month hit a record £120,788,499 in May 2022.
Commenting on the success, managing director Jamie Cooke says: “Today’s buyers and sellers want more choice, and agents offering online auctions are ticking this box, giving their clients a choice of method that matches their individual circumstances.”
“More and more consumers and agents are turning to auction to help them to succeed in the current market and reaching this milestone is a real celebration of the success of our Partner Agents.”
He adds: “We’ve paid out record fees to our agent network and we can see the market for auction continuing to grow and the appetite to use this method of sale increasing, amongst both Estate Agents and consumers.”
“We’re seeing a real shift in property types sold at auction too, from million-pound homes to city apartments and barn conversions, and we’re incredibly pleased to see perceptions changing in the market.”
Want to move before Christmas? It may be too late, warns auctioneer
An auctioneer has suggested that sellers wanting to sell their home via private treaty before Christmas may already be too late.
Jeremy Prior, managing director of Auction House, says as the traditional method of selling becomes longer, home movers are running a risk of not securing a home in time before the new year.
His view comes as Auction House reports its best-ever half-year results in terms of lots sold and money raised. The group sold 1,975 lots from 2,338 offered and raised over £316 million in the process in the first six months.
This marks a 12% increase in sales since the company’s previous best figures in 2019, when 1,752 lots were sold from 2,277 offered. It also represents a 13% increase in money raised on behalf of its clients.
Prior comments: “Not only do buyers and sellers increasingly appreciate unconditional auction as a method of sale, but it’s providing the perfect answer for those looking for that essential combination of speed and certainty, which the private treaty market simply cannot provide.”
Figures from Zoopla show the average time taken from searching for a home to exchange via the traditional private treaty method is rising – currently standing at around 170 days, or five and a half months.
Prior adds: “In the height of the British summer, it seems ridiculous to suggest that those wanting to sell their home via private treaty before Christmas may already be too late. But that’s the unfortunate reality.”
“Contrast that with unconditional auction, when a few weeks of active marketing before the date of the auction can lead to the deal being done on the fall of the hammer. And whilst selling prices in estate agency often end up lower than the quoted guide price, the bidding process in the competitive environment of an auction means the final selling price is often higher. For many properties out there, there’s no better way!”
However, Prior is sounding a note of caution over expectations, saying that the second half of the year will likely be more testing than the first.
He explains: “Nationally, the statistics show that the rate of monthly house price growth fell to its lowest rate since December 2019, with average values up just 0.1% in May this year. So, despite what appears to be a very robust situation currently, there are signs that the impetus in the property market as a whole is slowing, and buyers are becoming more sensitive to price.”
“We put this down to a complex cocktail of soaring inflation, rising interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis – which, taken together, are likely to make the back half of the year more challenging.”
Fixer-uppers reap positive results in SDL Property Auctions’ June sale
The range of renovation opportunities available at SDL Property Auctions’ June auction all sold well, with everything from classic terrace properties to former police stations going under the hammer.
Lot 1, 41 Derby Road in Belper was one of the most anticipated lots of the day, with its requirement for full renovation, and the potential that provided, proving popular. With three bedrooms and ample room for improvement, this property had a guide price of £88,000-plus and eventually sold for £192,000.
Elsewhere in Derbyshire, another great result was achieved with the sale of 212 Stenson Road. The property was originally constructed out of four train carriages. While it still requires a great deal of modernisation, this was a great chance for a buyer looking for a new project to take one under their wing. Sold in partnership with Hannells, this property made £139,000 from its guide of £95,000-plus.
An ‘arresting’ opportunity was found in north Nottinghamshire in Shirebrook, where the town’s former police station was on sale. The detached two-storey building also benefits from off-street parking space, making it a great opportunity for sympathetic redevelopment into residential accommodation, whether that be a single dwelling or apartments (subject to planning). The lot achieved great results on the day, selling for £150,000 from its guide price of £135,000-plus.
In the West Midlands, 467 Charles Road in Small Heath presented a ‘fantastic’ opportunity for a buy-to-let investment. This three-bedroom terraced property, in need of modernisation, is estimated to achieve £675 per calendar month in rental income or £8,100 per annum. The property was offered with a guide price of £120,000-plus and sold for £141,000.
A more ready-to-go purchase was found in Burton Joyce in Nottinghamshire in a Timed Auction, where 148 Nottingham Road was sold. This is a four-bedroom detached bungalow situated on the outskirts of Burton Joyce village. In good condition throughout, the property was offered at a guide price of £335,000-plus, eventually selling for £401,000 after a flurry of bids were placed.
July’s National Property Auction takes place on Thursday July 28. If you’re looking to sell your property by auction, in either the live-streamed National Property Auction or in a Timed Auction online, you can get in touch with the SDL Property Auctions team on 0800 046 5454.
Clive Emson: Victorian fort for sale and lot no. 10 for Number 10?
A Palmerston Fort in Gosport, Hampshire, is to go under the hammer at Clive Emson’s July auction.
Fort Gilkicker was completed in 1871 and is a semi-circular ark that was designed to protect the deep water anchorage at Spithead. It was built in case the French attacked.
Palmerston Forts were named after the Prime Minister Lord Palmerston, although the French threat had largely subsided by the time this one was completed.
Planning permission has been granted to develop the Grade II-listed building into 26 homes, which would have stunning views across the Solent.
It was built with 22 casemates – large rooms from which guns could be fired. Five bigger guns were mounted on the roof. The walls were further strengthened with earthwork embankments prior to the First World War.
The fort was used in the first and second world wars and since then it has been used variously as a plumbers’ workshop, signalling station and storage units.
Clive Emson will offer the fort at its next sale with a guide price of £1.5 million.
Rob Marchant, auctioneer, says: “The fort is situated at Stokes Bay in Gosport and is a magnificent relic of the Victorian era, built between 1863 and 1871.”
“Permission has been granted to convert the fort into an exclusive estate of 26 homes. There would be 22 in the former gun emplacements and four really big apartments in the barrack block.”
According to Marchant, changes would include removing the earth wall put up before the First World War, to open up some stunning views across the Solent.
“Having grown up locally the fort has always looked as it does now. It is a stunning opportunity for someone, a really exciting project,” he adds. “We have sold sea forts before but this is the first land-based one from this era that we’ve listed. It is unique.”
It is certainly one of the more unusual lots in the auction, yet there are other investment opportunities in abundance.
James Emson, managing director, comments: “Our July auction covers all budgets, including for outgoing Prime Ministers who may suddenly require a new affordable home away from the precarious tenancy of Number 10 Downing Street.”
“Indeed, given the mass resignation of government ministers, the highest in 90 years, lot 10 might be of particular interest to politicians because you can conveniently take the whole house with you each time if job security is a constant issue.”
With a guide price of £30,000-plus, the fully fitted and insulated two-bedroom house near Ashford in Kent, is made from two shipping containers and can be placed anywhere, subject to consents.
Just under 1.7 acres of land at the mainline railway station town of Swanley, Kent, with planning permission for 18 homes, is guided at £1.5 million-£1.6 million. The instruction is from Sevenoaks District Council (lot 84).
Guided at £980,000 to £1 million, a 0.77-acre development site in Gillingham, Kent, has planning permission for seven houses (lot 44).
The residential property with the lowest guide price in the July auction is a currently uninhabitable end-terrace house at Crediton, Exeter - £15,000-plus (lot 53).
Meanwhile, a six-floor boutique guest house in Brighton, East Sussex, has 14 en-suite bedrooms and is guided at £700-£750,000 (lot 97).
Clive Emson Auctioneers’ online auction, featuring a catalogue of 118 lots, ends on Thursday July 28, with bidding live two days beforehand.
Characterful homes available at Bond Wolfe July sale
Bond Wolfe has released details of the highly anticipated lots featured in its upcoming auction on July 21.
One highlight is the two-bedroomed mid-terraced house at 25 Summerbank Road, in Tunstall. In need of modernisation work throughout it has two reception rooms, a kitchen, rear lobby and bathroom with WC on the ground floor, with two bedrooms upstairs and a yard to the rear. It is guided at £20,000.
At the other end of the scale to this Victorian terraced house is the modern three-bedroomed semi-detached house at 7 Basford Court, Oxford Road, Newcastle-under-Lyme, has a guide price of £115,000-plus – still way below current market values.
A four-bedroom mid-terraced house at 16 Hughes Street, in Stoke is priced at just £35,000-plus, with two reception rooms and a dining kitchen downstairs, three bedrooms and a bathroom with WC on the first floor and an attic bedroom above.
Gurpreet Bassi, chief executive of Bond Wolfe, explained that there was a great range of other doer-uppers from across Stoke and Newcastle in what is Bond Wolfe’s first return to the auction room in two-and-a-half years.
For instance the two-bedroomed mid-terraced house at 137 Moorland Road, in Burlsem, Stoke-on-Trent, is priced at £30,000-plus, reflecting the need for some modernisation. It has a hall, two reception rooms, a kitchen, rear lobby and WC downstairs with two bedrooms and the bathroom with WC upstairs. Gas central heating and UPVC double glazing are fitted and there is a yard to the rear.
Another property requiring work in return for a low price tag is 11 Kyffin Road in Stoke. This two-bedroom semi-detached house is listed at only £25,000-plus for a home with gardens front and rear, a reception room, hall and dining kitchen downstairs and two bedrooms and a bathroom with WC upstairs.
Bassi added: “Once again we are offering a great range of properties to suit all needs, and we are looking forward to returning to a busy in-room auction as well as serving plenty of bidders’ who will join us online.”
The Stoke lots are just some of the 206 properties appearing in Bond Wolfe’s auction that starts at 9.30am on July 21 in a return to the Holte Suite at Villa Park for the first time in two-and-a-half years.
For those not able to attend in person, the auction will continue to be live-streamed via Bond Wolfe’s website with remote bidding by proxy, telephone or internet.
For more details and to register to bid visit www.bondwolfe.com/property-auctions-west-midlands/ or email auctions@bondwolfe.com, or call 0121 312 1212 or 01902 928 510.
Shining results at Sutton Kersh's summer auction
Sutton Kersh held its fourth auction of the year yesterday (July 14), selling £7.2 million worth of propety.
The team sold over 30% of their lots prior to the live-streamed online event, equating to a sales value of over £3 million.
This brings their half-year sales to a total of £37 million through 310 properties sold at four auctions.
Cathy Holt, associate director at Sutton Kersh Auctions, comments: “Properties are still attractive investments for many. We have seen a rise in first-time buyers who are looking for a project to be a home to make their own, which in most cases is cheaper for them too.”
The auction featured some plots of land in addition to some commercial, mixed-use, investment and vacant residential properties. The first Lot of the day sold for £15,000 over its guide of £45,000. The two-bed “doer-upper” on Nimrod Street in L4 presented an ideal investment opportunity, especially as it comes with planning permissions for a single rear extension.
Lot 3 was a good-sized three-bed semi-detached residential investment property in Aintree and it sold for £101,000, which was £30,000 over its guide price. Not too far away in Fazakerley, lot 6, another three-bed semi-detached property that is in need of refurbishment, also had a guide of £70,000 and sold for £111,500.
Bidding was consistently strong throughout the auction with high demand for the terraced and semi-detached properties that require a scheme of refurbishment and modernisation to make them suitable for occupation, resale or investment. A perfect example of this was lot 9 on Merlin Street in L8; a two-bed mid-terraced property needing a full upgrade and refurbishment. When the works are completed it has the potential to be rented out for £7,800 a year. It ended up selling for £120,000 against a guide price of £75,000.
Holt continues: “Despite buyers appearing to be a bit more cautious at the moment, a national trend, there certainly was still demand which resulted in us selling 80% of the lots we offered. Liverpool is still a property hotspot for investors due to the universities, job opportunities and the tourism, leisure and hospitality industry, not to mention the nightlife we offer too.”
“We have also outperformed our nearest local competitor by selling 200 more properties than them in the same time period this year, so I’m delighted with how we are doing in the first half of 2022.”
Sutton Kersh Auctions will be holding its next auction on September 8 2022.
Developers seize opportunity at Network Auctions despite cooling market
Network Auctions’ latest online auction (July 14) showed the market may be tightening – but developers are still keen to buy.
Overall, the auction raised £5 million with a success rate of 85%.
Toby Limbrick, director and auctioneer, comments: “We’re seeing a more considered approach with how people are buying. Despite the political turmoil, investors and developers are buying with a long-term timeframe.”
This approach to investment was seen in two star lots of the day. Colman’s Wharf, Bromley by Bow, is a warehouse conversion with a restricted lease as a live/work unit. Other units in the block have overturned the restriction and are now fully residential, unlocking value potential. In an area that’s rapidly gentrifying and becoming more sought after, the £408,000 hammer price off a guide of £275,000 looks good value.
The second highlight attracted 216 bids. The former homeless hostel comprising 15 rooms and a car park is situated in Luton’s ‘golden triangle’.
Limbrick explains: “The building was in poor condition which meant we couldn’t carry out any viewings so all buyers were bidding ‘blind’. The property was guided at £350,000 and a pre-auction offer of £500,000 was declined - a good decision as it sold for £751,000 - more than double the guide!”
Network Auctions' next online auction will be held September 22 2022.
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