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Auction revenues up!

The Negotiator
Auction revenues up!

David SandemanDavid Sandeman, auction guru at Essential Information Group (EIG) reports that 144 auctions were held, with 3657 Lots Offered and 2774 Lots Sold (commercial and residential) in July – 24 fewer than last year, yet the numbers indicate a steady market.

Notwithstanding the small drop in lots offered, there were gains made in lots sold and total raised (up 0.5 per cent and 7.3 per cent respectively) whilst the sale rate jumped 3 percentage points to 75.7 per cent. The rolling quarterly figures paint a similar picture, albeit with smaller margins, but the rolling yearly figures show small falls in each metric and reflect the challenging economic and political backdrop over the past 12-18 months.

National figures show a marginal decrease in the number of residential lots offered at auction last month – down 0.8 per cent to 2,949 lots, yet encouragingly sale volumes rose four per cent to 2,226 lots and residential revenues totalled £336m, up £10m on July 2016. The rolling quarterly figures also make for positive reading, with gains evident in each of the four metrics.

Hunters race for sales at York

Hunters Auctions’ sale at York Racecourse on 2nd August offered some interesting lots available, with successful sales at excellent prices, compared to the guide prices.
Hunters auction property, York, image
The crowds were there, in particular, for two properties: a one bed flat in Gillygate, York with a guide of £50,000- £60,000 and a four bedroom townhouse on Lawrence Street, York at £120,000-£140,000.

The flat in Gillygate had several open viewings, with 20 people each time. The final sale price of £96,000 was totally unexpected but excellent! The star property was 147 Lawrence Street.

This property had been occupied in the basement part of the building, but the upper floors had succumbed to a pigeon infestation over the last decade. Once the property had been cleared, over 150 people attending the open viewings.

At a guide price of £120,000- £140,000, a result anywhere above the guide would have been a bonus. After a period of numerous hands in the air frantically bidding, the final sale price settled on a whopping £270,000.

Hunters’ next live Auction is on 20th September 2017.

London timewarp home sells through Auction House London

Timewarp home imageA four bedroom home in Edgware, owned by the same family for 70 years sold through Auction House London in July for an unexpected £1.12m.

Time has stood still at The Cedars in Mill Ridge and it needs total renovation but with a quarter of an acre garden it attracted a great number of potential buyers, at a starting guide price of £850,000.

Director and Auctioneer Andrew Binstock said, “This property is on a large plot of land and could make a fabulous family home. Alternatively, it could be developed by creating a number of flats in the house so this lot appealed equally to investors and developers at the sale.”

The auction on 19th July at the London Marriott Hotel raised £17,703,950 from 112 lots.

A recent partnership deal means that Auction House London is now selling all future auction properties listed by Countrywide in the capital. Andrew Binstock added, “As our brand is growing we’re finding increasing numbers of corporate clients want to use us, and although we no longer cherry pick all the auction lots we list, this alliance means we have a wider stock to offer buyers.”

£18,000 agent fee for Guild’s first sale

The Guild Property Professionals logoThe Guild of Property Professionals has sold its first property through Guild Auctions, a white-labelled auction house designed to facilitate property sales.

Guild Auctions is powered by IAM Sold, an online auction platform which has sold 10,000 properties.

The home, in the North East, sold for £875,000 through Guild Member Dobsons. As a result of this sale alone, Dobsons will collect a commission of over £18,000.

Buyers can monitor and bid on homes twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and each property is listed for four weeks. Potential buyers are invited to participate in a virtual auction to sell the home. The process for payment is completely safe, and payment for homes is guaranteed to be completed before the 21st of the month following a sale, so Dobsons can be certain of when the process will be completed.

“I’m really pleased with the first sale and would like to extend my congratulations to Dobsons on a job well done. I am sure this will be the first of many homes sold through our online auctions service,” says The Guild of Property Professionals CEO Iain McKenzie. “Guild Auctions combines the excitement of a live auction event with the convenience of bidding from your own home.”

Clive Emson calls time on Kent pub

Kent pub auction imageClive Emson Auctioneers sold 139 land and property lots worth over £15m at its July auction, with a sale rate of 70 per cent.

Managing Director James Emson said, “Despite the huge volatility at the moment, the auction sector continues to shine and outperform other areas of the property market.

“We have had an excellent year to date with strong performances across all areas and we seek to build on this during the autumn.”

July sale highlights included: The former Crown and Anchor pub in Faversham, Kent – development potential raised the price to £502,000, over £200,000 above the guide price.

A former mill worker’s cottage in 16 acres of riverside land near Beaworthy, Devon, sold for £360,000 – well above its guide of £275,000 to £300,000.

And an historic thatched roof, weatherboard cottage dating from 1650 between the rivers Deben and Orwell in Bucklesham, near Ipswich, sold for £148,000 freehold.

Symonds & Sampson leads their region

Symonds & Sampson auction property imageThe Symonds & Sampson team was delighted to see that the latest statistics from the Essential Information Group places them as the leading auctioneer in the region. The news arrived in time for the firm’s July sale, a real ‘summer sizzler’ as all lots in Dorset and Somerset sold to a packed room in Sherborne.

Auctioneer Mark Lewis said it was one of the best auctions of the year, “The end of July can be a difficult time; the schools have broken up and people go on holiday but our sale on 28th July proved popular with buyers travelling from all parts of the south of England and as far away as Wolverhampton.”

One great result was The Round House near Yeovil, an octagonal Grade II listed building built in 1740 requiring modernisation. Set in just over an acre it attracted great interest with 46 people registering for the legal pack. The guide was £200,000, but 72 bids took it to £352,000.

Two building plots received unprecedented interest. The Phoenix, just outside Sturminster Newton is situated on a no through lane providing great tranquillity. 40 people registered for the legal pack and after 35 very quick bids the hammer fell at £210,000, 60 per cent above the guide. The buyer also exercised the option to buy 0.4 acre adjoining for £65,000.

A plot in Bruton, however, was a huge draw for people especially from London. The Daily Telegraph recently said, “Bruton is very much the chic and happening place at the moment and it is attracting a wonderful eclectic mix of people.” The site had planning permission for a four bedroom house by a stream in three acres. The hammer fell at £600,000. Symonds & Sampson’s next auction is on 29th September.

Together teams up with Bamboo Auctions

Chris Baguley, Together, imageSpecialist lender Together has teamed up with Bamboo Auctions, one of the UK’s first online property auction marketplaces, to offer short-term auction finance for all lots listed on the site.

Bamboo Auctions works with a range of leading auction houses across the UK, including Clive Emson Auctioneers and SDL Auctions, allowing customers to buy and sell properties online, rather than through the traditional auction rooms.

The new partnership means all the properties listed on Bamboo Auctions will be eligible for auction finance from Together.

Chris Baguley, Commercial Director at Together, said,

“As well as having dedicated representatives in nearly all the major auction houses in the UK, giving us a presence at over 300 property auctions every year, we also recognise the digital shift in the industry, as people want to be able to shop online for auction properties. We’re delighted to be working with Bamboo Auctions to ensure that the online auction marketplace can benefit from our specialist auction finance offering.”

Midlands agents’ new service

Newton Fallowell agents imageMidlands estate agents Newton Fallowell and Goodchilds have launched a new partnership with SDL Auctions.

The sister companies are among the largest estate agents in the Midlands with 40 residential sales and lettings branches between them, stretching from Telford in the west to Boston in the east.

They have now joined SDL Auctions’ partnership and now offer clients the opportunity to sell their properties at a live or online auction, while continuing to market them locally in the traditional way.

Mark Newton, of Newton Fallowell and Goodchilds, said, “This new partnership means we are utilising all methods of sale, reaching more potential buyers and driving the best possible price within a fixed time frame.

“As a franchise business, we are constantly looking at ways in which we can bring added value to our franchisees with market leading products, and it is hoped that this offering will help generate more income across our network.”

September 19, 2017

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