Property auction sales hit all-time high in 2014

The number of property lots sold at auction reached a record high in 2014, data from the Essential Information Group (EIG) shows. According to EIG, the volume of lots offered for sale last year rose by 3.8 per cent to 28,526, with no fewer than 21,838 lots sold – up 2.1 per cent on 2013 and surpassing the previous record set in 2007. The latest figures also reveal that revenues are heading skyward as over £3 billion worth of property sold under the hammer in 2014 for the first time in seven years – up 14 per cent on 2013 and a fourth consecutive year-on-year rise. With the volume of lots offered falling in the North and rising in the South, it was unsurprising to see that auction receipts increased significantly in London and the Home Counties, accounting for over 50 per cent of the UK total. Northern Ireland also saw significant gains last year. Meanwhile, EIG data also revealed that the amount of money raised from property auction sales totalled over £491m in December 2014; a 3.6 per cent gain on the same month in 2013 and the largest amount achieved in December since 2007. In total, 134 property…