"While overpriced stock lingers in estate agent windows across the UK, our auction rooms are still seeing genuine interest from canny buyers who recognise the right prices when they see them"
- Jeremy Prior - Auction House
Amidst a cost-of-living crisis and high mortgage rates, the housing market has undeniably cooled, with demand from buyers slowly falling over the past twelve months.
However, new data shows that property auctions are bucking this downward market trend, with the number of properties coming to auction in the UK rising from 13,854 lots in 2021/22 to 15,424 in 2022/23.
Despite the average auction property price taking a slight dip of -1.8% to £190,871, a staggering £2.9 billion worth of residential property was successfully sold at auction in 2022/23.
With the recent turbulence in the housing market, and a lack of confidence and uncertainty being felt across the UK, a growing number of people are turning to the auction room to seek a faster and more secure way of buying and selling property.
Moverly commented that buying and selling property at auction “was once the reserve of adventurous or professional property players”, but the rise of digital auctions has created a level of convenience and accessibility that everyday homebuyers can benefit from.
While a private treaty sale takes an average of 171 days from instruction to completion, a property sale at auction can be completed in as little as 28 days. The certainty that buying at auction can bring also appears to be boosting its appeal. When a bid is accepted and the hammer falls, contracts are immediately exchanged, making the sale legally binding.
This growth in popularity has resulted in approximately 40% more property being sold at auction in 2022 compared to 2019 - and this number is continuing to rise.
Auction House UK posted record sales figures for the first half of this year, selling 2,644 properties between January and July. This figure is up more than a fifth (21%) from 2022, and more than ever before at this stage of the year for the group.
Jeremy Prior, Managing Director of Auction House, commented: “The careful pricing strategy carried out by our network of regional auctioneers continues to reap dividends. That means while overpriced stock lingers in estate agent windows across the UK, our auction rooms are still seeing genuine interest from canny buyers who recognise the right prices when they see them.”
Despite challenging market conditions, buyers are still looking to snap up property, with the competitive nature of auctions successfully driving prices upwards.
Jeremy concluded: “The key difference is that estate agents will often initially list a property with a maximum price, in the expectation that they may have to discount it later. By contrast, auctioneers value each and every property realistically, knowing that the correct level will be found in the auction room. That’s why we’re bucking the trend and seeing sales figures rise rather than fall this summer.”
