"Whilst the UK housing market is still very competitive and price sensitive, we saw a boom in auction activity in Q1"
- Jamie Cooke - iamproperty
Continued rising demand, coupled with improved market conditions, supported a solid start to the year’s auction sales in the South, according to iamproperty.
Newly released data from the online auctioneer revealed that sales in the South East grew by a massive 20% in Q1 compared with the same period last year, generating over £60m in Capital Value for vendors.
In terms of volume, the highest-selling location in Q1 was Kent, with over 129 sales, followed by Greater London (95), Birmingham (71) and Lancashire (64). Other locations making up iamproperty’s top 10 selling regions included County Durham, Bradford, Nottinghamshire, Essex, Bolton and Hampshire.
Between January and March, agents experienced their most active auction market to date, with over 2,588 properties sold and over £450m in Capital Value raised.
Growing confidence
Soaring sales across the country have been attributed to growing consumer confidence as interest rates showed signs of settling. Coupled with the looming possibility of a general election, many vendors were determined to get their property on the market, with Rightmove reporting March 28th as the biggest day for new sellers coming to the market this year, and the third biggest day since August 2020.
Google searches throughout Q1 mirrored rising consumer interest in auction, as searches for ‘housing auction’ and ‘property auction’ hit their highest rate since summer 2023, with discovery questions prominent around ‘types of auction’ and ‘selling your property at auction.’
Jamie Cooke, Co-Founder at iamproperty, commented: “Whilst the UK housing market is still very competitive and price sensitive, we saw a boom in auction activity in Q1.
"Our Partner Agent network achieved their strongest Q1 ever, as consumers became more open and confident in considering auction to buy and sell their properties, particularly higher value properties, as seen by the results in the South.
"Auction’s benefits of speed and security are resonating with more and more vendors, and we're thrilled to see our Partner Agents reap the rewards.”
Holly Price, Independent Agent powered by eXp added: “Working with iamproperty has given me another opportunity to be able to present clients with a different kind of service and one that really suits their evolving needs. This means not just going down the normal route of selling a property, but also providing them with the option of auction. It’s really helpful and lovely to be able to stand out in my market.”
