Phew! Property auction guide prices are not misleading, says advertising watchdog

A complaint against leading auctioneer SDL Auctions by a member of the public to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that its listed property auction guide prices were misleading has not been upheld. In an important judgement for the property auction industry, the ASA did not agree with the complainant, who had attended an SDL auction in Birmingham on the 6th July. The complaint in effect challenged the bedrock of the auctioneering industry – that houses often sell for much more than their guide price, and that guide prices are often changed during the run-up to auctions as vendors change their minds on their desire reserve price. £1 properties During the auction, at which several properties were offered with a guide price of £1, the complainant said many properties offered at the auction sold for significantly more than the guide price, and challenged whether the auction brochure’s guide prices were therefore misleading. After examining SDL Auctions’ catalogues for the auction and other paperwork, the ASA has concluded that because the company defined the difference between a guide price and a reserve price prominently in its catalogues, and because it routinely updates properties’ guide prices during the run-up to auctions to keep…