In a busy month for auctions and prior to the holiday slowdown, the group offered 592 lots through its room auctions, and sold 458 of them (compared to 427 in 2018) – at a strong success rate of 77.4% and raising an impressive £51.8 million. Meanwhile, the results for 2019 so far sit at 2,195 lots sold which is nearly 8% ahead of last year, after 7 months.
Roger Lake, Founding Director, said “Once again, the Auction House model is delivering well in a market place best described as struggling rather than stable, variable rather than consistent, and extremely price sensitive.
The twin benefits of speed and certainty that are unique to auctions are attracting more sellers across the country to our method of sale. We operate via a network of 40 sale rooms, selling local property to local buyers at higher prices through auctions held in the region – which is a strong attraction in times of difficulty and uncertainty. We are delivering speedy exchanges after 2 to 4 weeks of marketing, with sales being hammered and completion 2 to 4 weeks later.”
Roger adds that he is convinced that auctions will become more mainstream – especially for sellers with vacant stock who need an urgent sale, or those properties which are otherwise difficult to sell.
He explained: “There is no faster way to an exchange of contracts in the open market and our achieved prices are always at or above a seller’s minimum requirement.
Auctions are also the ideal sales route for most probates. We achieve a speedy sale through competitive bidding in a public arena, and deliver on executors’ best price obligations. Ultimately, we help sellers to achieve the results they require and move on with their lives. And for buyers, the auction room offers a plethora of opportunities as well as a speedy and certain way to purchase”.
Auction House has a busy September lined up, with a heavyweight programme of 24 auctions, and listing for those sales is already underway.
Roger concludes: “2019 has been a successful and productive year so far – the same opportunities should follow through the autumn, as external factors will most likely remain unchanged. Brexit, whilst a concern to everyone, doesn’t yet seem to have affected the auctions market. We will work on the assumption that the appeal of auctions will grow unabated, and we are optimistic for the balance of the year.”
