Property auction lots double year-on-year as sellers seek security

Auction lots coming to market have more than doubled as sellers seeking both urgency and security shun traditional high street sales.

Latest data from EIG Property Auctions shows a surge in the number of residential property lots coming to market with a 51.5% increase from August 2022 to August 2023. The number of residential lots sold year on year has increased by 39.7% with total raised increasing by 29.4%.

TRADITIONAL SALES

Meanwhile, Zoopla data from traditional treaty sales also shows that the number of housing sales expected to complete during 2023 is on track to be 21% down on 2022 and the lowest number of sales since 2012.

Stuart Collar-Brown (main picture), founder and director of My Auction, believes that a big reason for the stagnant market is that sellers’ expectations have not adjusted quickly enough to the current market conditions so are pricing their properties too highly to attract buyers.

He says: “We’ve seen a huge increase in enquiries from sellers, all keen to secure a sale on an existing property already on the market. There is a noticeable shift in the market with an increased urgency from sellers who want the security a sale by auction brings.”

“With more rate rises expected and Christmas fast approaching, taking the auction route is becoming far more popular than we have seen in the last three to four years.”

HARSH REALITY

And he adds: “The harsh reality of the current market is that if the market deems the price to be too high within the first seven to 10 days of marketing, sellers must accept the market conditions, re-adjust and go again.

“If there are buyers willing to pay on or close to the guide price on a property but offer the guarantee of an immediate exchange of contracts with a non-refundable 10% deposit, sellers should seriously be considering taking these offers.

“If they don’t take it now, in three months’ time, they could be 10% or more less, based on what we are seeing from buyers right now.”