Property auction market sees busiest ever January on record

David Sandeman

The year is already off to a flying start, with this January being marked as the busiest ever in auction history, both in terms of the number of properties coming to market increasing by 45.1% and the number selling under the hammer growing by 49.8%.

January has traditionally been one of the quieter months for auctions, but there has been a significant uplift in New Year sales over the past few years, according to Essential Information guide.

The primary reason for the shift this year is two of the major London auctioneers choosing to put on additional sales to kick off the year, in advance of their standard February dates, which EIG’s David Sandeman says reflects the increased appetite and demand for buying and selling properties at auctions.

“As we started to see grow at the end of last year and we have seen auctioneers choosing to add more dates into their calendars to cope with this influx [in demand],” he said.

Looking at the regional breakdown, many regions have benefitted from these additional auctions taking place, with most performance indicators showing an increase on last year.

Sandeman continued: “Those areas which have seen a slight dip in their January statistics have experienced this due to auction dates being rolled forward into early February, so we would expect to see added buoyancy in next months figures.

“2024 is shaping up to be a busy time for auctions, and we are looking forward to seeing what the rest of the first Quarter brings for the industry.”

National Auction Analysis

Overall

N.B. Figures in brackets denote the comparative period last year

January 2024 November 2023 to January 2024 February 2023 to January 2024
Lots Offered 1,464 (1,009)  45.1% 7,881 (7,248)  8.7% 36,487 (31,219) ▲ 16.9%
Lots Sold 966 (645)  49.8% 5,496 (4,795)  14.6% 25,668 (22,599)  13.6%
Percent Sold 66.0% (63.9%)  3.3% 69.7% (66.2%)  5.3% 70.3% (72.4%)  2.9%
Total Raised £147.3M (£74.3M)  98.3% £1,039.9M (£915.5M)  13.6% £4,895.9M (£4,745.0M)  3.2%

Residential

N.B. Figures in brackets denote the comparative period last year

January 2024 November 2023 to January 2024 February 2023 to January 2024
Lots Offered 1,340 (919)  45.8% 6,955 (6,428)  8.2% 31,980 (26,872) ▲ 19.0%
Lots Sold 904 (594)  52.2% 4,884 (4,218)  15.8% 22,499 (19,553)  15.1%
Percent Sold 67.5% (64.6%)  4.5% 70.2% (65.6%)  7.0% 70.4% (72.8%)  3.3%
Total Raised £135.5M (£66.6M)  103.4% £842.4M (£686.8M)  22.7% £3,814.4M (£3,589.9M)  6.3%

Commercial

N.B. Figures in brackets denote the comparative period last year

January 2024 November 2023 to January 2024 February 2023 to January 2024
Lots Offered 124 (90)  37.8% 926 (820)  12.9% 4,507 (4,347) ▲ 3.7%
Lots Sold 62 (51)  21.6% 612 (577)  6.1% 3,169 (3,046)  4.0%
Percent Sold 50.0% (56.7%)  11.8% 66.1% (70.4%)  6.1% 70.3% (70.1%)  0.3%
Total Raised £11.9M (£7.7M)  54.0% £197.5M (£228.7M)  13.7% £1,081.4M (£1,155.1M)  6.4%

Regional Auction Analysis

As is usually the case, variations across all the measurable parameters can be seen across the regions.

N.B. Figures in brackets denote the comparative period last year

East-AngliaEast Anglia

(Includes Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk)

November 2023 to January 2024 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 385 (257)  49.8% 346 (224)  54.5% 39 (33) ▲ 18.2%
Lots Sold 281 (187)  50.3% 254 (162)  56.8% 27 (25)  8.0%
Percent Sold 73.0% (72.8%)  0.3% 73.4% (72.3%)  1.5% 69.2% (75.8%)  8.7%
Total Raised £47.4M (£39.0M)  21.5% £42.1M (£27.2M)  54.5% £5.3M (£11.8M)  54.8%

East-MidlandsEast Midlands

(Includes Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland)

November 2023 to January 2024 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 597 (567)  5.3% 521 (507)  2.8% 76 (60) ▲ 26.7%
Lots Sold 448 (387)  15.8% 386 (336)  14.9% 62 (51)  21.6%
Percent Sold 75.0% (68.3%)  9.8% 74.1% (66.3%)  11.8% 81.6% (85.0%)  4.0%
Total Raised £74.0M (£65.8M)  12.5% £59.0M (£49.0M)  20.6% £15.0M (£16.8M)  11.1%

LondonLondon

November 2023 to January 2024 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 567 (540)  5.0% 531 (466)  13.9% 36 (74)  51.4%
Lots Sold 426 (370)  15.1% 396 (309)  28.2% 30 (61)  50.8%
Percent Sold 75.1% (68.5%)  9.6% 74.6% (66.3%)  12.5% 83.3% (82.4%)  1.1%
Total Raised £210.1M (£172.7M)  21.7% £183.3M (£129.1M)  42.0% £26.8M (£43.6M)  38.4%

North-EastNorth-East

(Includes Cleveland, County Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear)

November 2023 to January 2024 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 644 (517)  24.6% 604 (496)  21.8% 40 (21) ▲ 90.5%
Lots Sold 491 (320)  53.4% 465 (303)  53.5% 26 (17)  52.9%
Percent Sold 76.2% (61.9%)  23.1% 77.0% (61.1%)  26.0% 65.0% (81.0%)  19.8%
Total Raised £31.9M (£31.1M)  2.5% £27.5M (£22.1M)  24.8% £4.4M (£9.1M)  51.6%

North-WestNorth-West

(Includes Cheshire, Cumbria, Isle of Man, Lancashire, Merseyside)

November 2023 to January 2024 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 1,136 (1,178)  3.6% 1,036 (1,054)  1.7% 100 (124)  19.4%
Lots Sold 796 (759)  4.9% 727 (679)  7.1% 69 (80)  13.8%
Percent Sold 70.1% (64.4%)  8.9% 70.2% (64.4%)  9.0% 69.0% (64.5%)  7.0%
Total Raised £93.8M (£89.2M)  5.2% £77.1M (£67.8M)  13.8% £16.7M (£21.4M)  22.0%

North-West-Home-CountiesNorth-West Home Counties

(Includes Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Oxfordshire)

November 2023 to January 2024 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 560 (448)  25.0% 495 (391)  26.6% 65 (57) ▲ 14.0%
Lots Sold 394 (300)  31.3% 351 (260)  35.0% 43 (40)  7.5%
Percent Sold 70.4% (67.0%)  5.1% 70.9% (66.5%)  6.6% 66.2% (70.2%)  5.7%
Total Raised £111.4M (£83.3M)  33.8% £87.4M (£60.9M)  43.4% £24.1M (£22.4M)  7.6%

Northern-IrelandNorthern Ireland

November 2023 to January 2024 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 58 (59)  1.7% 43 (44)  2.3% 15 (15)  0.0%
Lots Sold 25 (16)  56.3% 18 (11)  63.6% 7 (5)  40.0%
Percent Sold 43.1% (27.1%)  59.0% 41.9% (25.0%)  67.6% 46.7% (33.3%)  40.2%
Total Raised £2.4M (£4.9M)  50.3% £1.9M (£3.0M)  37.1% £0.5M (£1.8M)  72.1%

ScotlandScotland

November 2023 to January 2024 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 310 (301)  3.0% 203 (214)  5.1% 107 (87) ▲ 23.0%
Lots Sold 108 (127)  15.0% 71 (87)  18.4% 37 (40)  7.5%
Percent Sold 34.8% (42.2%)  17.5% 35.0% (40.7%)  14.0% 34.6% (46.0%)  24.8%
Total Raised £17.1M (£12.2M)  39.3% £5.8M (£6.6M)  10.9% £11.2M (£5.7M)  97.1%

South-East-Home-CountiesSouth-East Home Counties

(Includes Channel Islands, East Sussex, Essex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Surrey, West Sussex)

November 2023 to January 2024 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 1,209 (995)  21.5% 1,095 (889)  23.2% 114 (106) ▲ 7.5%
Lots Sold 822 (639)  28.6% 741 (564)  31.4% 81 (75)  8.0%
Percent Sold 68.0% (64.2%)  5.9% 67.7% (63.4%)  6.8% 71.1% (70.8%)  0.4%
Total Raised £184.0M (£150.8M)  22.0% £155.1M (£119.9M)  29.4% £28.9M (£30.9M)  6.5%

South-WestSouth-West

(Includes Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Isles of Scilly, Somerset, Wiltshire)

November 2023 to January 2024 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 604 (530)  14.0% 501 (463)  8.2% 103 (67) ▲ 53.7%
Lots Sold 429 (373)  15.0% 356 (320)  11.3% 73 (53)  37.7%
Percent Sold 71.0% (70.4%)  0.9% 71.1% (69.1%)  2.9% 70.9% (79.1%)  10.4%
Total Raised £86.1M (£82.5M)  4.3% £69.5M (£66.1M)  5.1% £16.6M (£16.4M)  1.0%

WalesWales

November 2023 to January 2024 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 440 (386)  14.0% 373 (342)  9.1% 67 (44) ▲ 52.3%
Lots Sold 288 (253)  13.8% 245 (226)  8.4% 43 (27)  59.3%
Percent Sold 65.5% (65.5%)  0.0% 65.7% (66.1%)  0.6% 64.2% (61.4%)  4.6%
Total Raised £31.8M (£33.7M)  5.5% £25.2M (£26.3M)  3.9% £6.6M (£7.4M)  11.2%

West-MidlandsWest Midlands

(Includes Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire)

November 2023 to January 2024 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 711 (747)  4.8% 628 (660)  4.8% 83 (87)  4.6%
Lots Sold 515 (568)  9.3% 453 (500)  9.4% 62 (68)  8.8%
Percent Sold 72.4% (76.0%)  4.7% 72.1% (75.8%)  4.9% 74.7% (78.2%)  4.5%
Total Raised £80.3M (£89.8M)  10.6% £58.7M (£64.4M)  8.8% £21.6M (£25.4M)  15.2%

Yorkshire-and-The-HumberYorkshire and The Humber

(Includes North Humberside, North Yorkshire, South Humberside, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire)

November 2023 to January 2024 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 660 (723)  8.7% 579 (678)  14.6% 81 (45) ▲ 80.0%
Lots Sold 473 (496)  4.6% 421 (461)  8.7% 52 (35)  48.6%
Percent Sold 71.7% (68.6%)  4.5% 72.7% (68.0%)  6.9% 64.2% (77.8%)  17.5%
Total Raised £69.6M (£60.4M)  15.1% £49.7M (£44.5M)  11.7% £19.9M (£15.9M)  24.7%

The figures are based on sales data provided to EIG by the auctioneers.

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