Auction market sees property sales activity remain firm

The UK property auction market continued to perform strongly in September despite the challenges presented by Covid-19, according to the latest report from the Essential Information Group (EIG).

The number of residential lots offered in September dropped by 9.3% year-on-year, from 2,871 in September last year to 2,605 last month, whilst there were 87 fewer lots sold – down 4.1%. But despite a dip in the number of homes sold under the hammer, the total amount raised actually increased quite substantially.

In terms of residential properties sold, the data shows that £361.8m was raised in total, up 22.3% year-on-year, thanks in part to a rise in the overall success rate.

Some 78.2% of the residential properties offered for sale via auction in September were sold, up from 74% in the corresponding month last year.

The EIG’s managing director, David Sandeman, said: “A quick look at the results [for September 2020] shows 16 green upward arrows indicating that 16 of the 36 metrics we cover showed an increase in percentage value. This is the highest number of green arrows we have had since Covid-19 broke out. Indeed, the total amount raised went up almost 39% and in the commercial sector it was up 153%.

“This was mainly due to Allsop Commercial and Acuitus each holding a commercial sale in September, their first September sales since we started collecting records in 1990. The two auctions raised £70.8m.

“If we remove this amount from the overall calculation for the amount raised by the industry as a whole, the value of lots sold still increased by 17.6% when compared with September 2019, and was the first month-on-month rise in total amount raised since April last year with the exception of June this year that rose by just 0.8%.

“The metrics clearly indicate that not only is the industry coping with Covid-19 and all the challenges it throws up, but indeed increasing the value of sales, and demonstrating it has a robust way forward to continue selling by auction in these strange times.”

EIG data: 

National Auction Analysis

Overall

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

September 2020 July 2020 to September 2020 October 2019 to September 2020
Lots Offered 3,043 (3,328) ▼ 8.6% 6,248 (7,539) ▼ 17.1% 23,793 (29,684) ▼ 19.8%
Lots Sold 2,372 (2,457) ▼ 3.5% 4,959 (5,509) ▼ 10.0% 18,257 (22,001) ▼ 17.0%
Percent Sold 77.9% (73.8%) ▲ 5.6% 79.4% (73.1%) ▲ 8.6% 76.7% (74.1%) ▲ 3.5%
Total Raised £469.6M (£338.4M) ▲ 38.8% £968.3M (£861.6M) ▲ 12.4% £3,235.8M (£3,710.0M) ▼ 12.8%

Residential

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

September 2020 July 2020 to September 2020 October 2019 to September 2020
Lots Offered 2,605 (2,871) ▼ 9.3% 5,378 (6,392) ▼ 15.9% 20,314 (25,141) ▼ 19.2%
Lots Sold 2,037 (2,124) ▼ 4.1% 4,272 (4,654) ▼ 8.2% 15,597 (18,583) ▼ 16.1%
Percent Sold 78.2% (74.0%) ▲ 5.7% 79.4% (72.8%) ▲ 9.1% 76.8% (73.9%) ▲ 3.9%
Total Raised £361.8M (£295.9M) ▲ 22.3% £741.7M (£657.1M) ▲ 12.9% £2,387.6M (£2,657.2M) ▼ 10.1%

Commercial

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

September 2020 July 2020 to September 2020 October 2019 to September 2020
Lots Offered 438 (457) ▼ 4.2% 870 (1,147) ▼ 24.1% 3,479 (4,543) ▼ 23.4%
Lots Sold 335 (333) ▲ 0.6% 687 (855) ▼ 19.6% 2,660 (3,418) ▼ 22.2%
Percent Sold 76.5% (72.9%) ▲ 4.9% 79.0% (74.5%) ▲ 6.0% 76.5% (75.2%) ▲ 1.7%
Total Raised £107.8M (£42.5M) ▲ 153.6% £226.6M (£204.5M) ▲ 10.8% £848.2M (£1,052.8M) ▼ 19.4%

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 Anglia

(Includes Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk)

July 2020 to September 2020 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 266 (317) ▼ 16.1% 219 (221) ▼ 0.9% 47 (96) ▼ 51.0%
Lots Sold 207 (241) ▼ 14.1% 167 (154) ▲ 8.4% 40 (87) ▼ 54.0%
Percent Sold 77.8% (76.0%) ▲ 2.4% 76.3% (69.7%) ▲ 9.5% 85.1% (90.6%) ▼ 6.1%
Total Raised £42.0M (£41.2M) ▲ 1.9% £27.9M (£30.3M) ▼ 7.9% £14.1M (£10.9M) ▲ 29.1%

East Midlands

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

July 2020 to September 2020 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 541 (580) ▼ 6.7% 457 (491) ▼ 6.9% 84 (89) ▼ 5.6%
Lots Sold 433 (434) ▼ 0.2% 371 (371) ▼ 0.0% 62 (63) ▼ 1.6%
Percent Sold 80.0% (74.8%) ▲ 7.0% 81.2% (75.6%) ▲ 7.4% 73.8% (70.8%) ▲ 4.2%
Total Raised £71.8M (£55.0M) ▲ 30.5% £55.0M (£43.7M) ▲ 26.0% £16.8M (£11.4M) ▲ 47.8%

London

July 2020 to September 2020 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 602 (467) ▲ 28.9% 553 (437) ▲ 26.5% 49 (30) ▲ 63.3%
Lots Sold 481 (346) ▲ 39.0% 440 (322) ▲ 36.6% 41 (24) ▲ 70.8%
Percent Sold 79.9% (74.1%) ▲ 7.8% 79.6% (73.7%) ▲ 8.0% 83.7% (80.0%) ▲ 4.6%
Total Raised £213.7M (£151.5M) ▲ 41.1% £173.2M (£131.7M) ▲ 31.5% £40.6M (£19.8M) ▲ 104.4%

North-East

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

July 2020 to September 2020 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 497 (805) ▼ 38.3% 468 (751) ▼ 37.7% 29 (54) ▼ 46.3%
Lots Sold 411 (559) ▼ 26.5% 387 (522) ▼ 25.9% 24 (37) ▼ 35.1%
Percent Sold 82.7% (69.4%) ▲ 19.2% 82.7% (69.5%) ▲ 19.0% 82.8% (68.5%) ▲ 20.9%
Total Raised £26.3M (£44.9M) ▼ 41.3% £20.6M (£34.0M) ▼ 39.4% £5.7M (£10.9M) ▼ 47.4%

North-West

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

July 2020 to September 2020 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 1,093 (1,233) ▼ 11.4% 964 (1,040) ▼ 7.3% 129 (193) ▼ 33.2%
Lots Sold 815 (878) ▼ 7.2% 719 (742) ▼ 3.1% 96 (136) ▼ 29.4%
Percent Sold 74.6% (71.2%) ▲ 4.8% 74.6% (71.3%) ▲ 4.6% 74.4% (70.5%) ▲ 5.5%
Total Raised £92.3M (£87.0M) ▲ 6.1% £75.6M (£65.5M) ▲ 15.3% £16.7M (£21.5M) ▼ 22.1%

North-West Home Counties

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

July 2020 to September 2020 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 375 (362) ▲ 3.6% 315 (317) ▼ 0.6% 60 (45) ▲ 33.3%
Lots Sold 295 (272) ▲ 8.5% 246 (236) ▲ 4.2% 49 (36) ▲ 36.1%
Percent Sold 78.7% (75.1%) ▲ 4.8% 78.1% (74.4%) ▲ 5.0% 81.7% (80.0%) ▲ 2.1%
Total Raised £80.6M (£63.2M) ▲ 27.5% £65.1M (£43.1M) ▲ 51.0% £15.4M (£20.1M) ▼ 23.0%

Northern Ireland

July 2020 to September 2020 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 0 (102) ▼ 100.0% 0 (82) ▼ 100.0% 0 (20) ▼ 100.0%
Lots Sold 0 (50) ▼ 100.0% 0 (41) ▼ 100.0% 0 (9) ▼ 100.0%
Percent Sold 0.0% (49.0%) ▼ 100.0% 0.0% (50.0%) ▼ 100.0% 0.0% (45.0%) ▼ 100.0%
Total Raised £0.0M (£4.7M) ▼ 100.0% £0.0M (£4.2M) ▼ 100.0% £0.0M (£0.5M) ▼ 100.0%

Scotland

July 2020 to September 2020 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 53 (182) ▼ 70.9% 22 (149) ▼ 85.2% 31 (33) ▼ 6.1%
Lots Sold 48 (130) ▼ 63.1% 18 (110) ▼ 83.6% 30 (20) ▲ 50.0%
Percent Sold 90.6% (71.4%) ▲ 26.9% 81.8% (73.8%) ▲ 10.8% 96.8% (60.6%) ▲ 59.7%
Total Raised £11.1M (£7.9M) ▲ 40.7% £1.1M (£6.4M) ▼ 83.1% £10.1M (£1.5M) ▲ 549.4%

South-East Home Counties

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

July 2020 to September 2020 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 960 (905) ▲ 6.1% 801 (766) ▲ 4.6% 159 (139) ▲ 14.4%
Lots Sold 769 (671) ▲ 14.6% 641 (565) ▲ 13.5% 128 (106) ▲ 20.8%
Percent Sold 80.1% (74.1%) ▲ 8.1% 80.0% (73.8%) ▲ 8.4% 80.5% (76.3%) ▲ 5.5%
Total Raised £194.1M (£139.5M) ▲ 39.1% £140.8M (£104.3M) ▲ 35.0% £53.3M (£35.2M) ▲ 51.5%

South-West

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

July 2020 to September 2020 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 442 (497) ▼ 11.1% 341 (375) ▼ 9.1% 101 (122) ▼ 17.2%
Lots Sold 368 (365) ▲ 0.8% 285 (274) ▲ 4.0% 83 (91) ▼ 8.8%
Percent Sold 83.3% (73.4%) ▲ 13.5% 83.6% (73.1%) ▲ 14.4% 82.2% (74.6%) ▲ 10.2%
Total Raised £85.3M (£66.2M) ▲ 28.9% £62.6M (£50.5M) ▲ 24.1% £22.7M (£15.7M) ▲ 44.2%

Wales

July 2020 to September 2020 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 354 (472) ▼ 25.0% 297 (380) ▼ 21.8% 57 (92) ▼ 38.0%
Lots Sold 268 (329) ▼ 18.5% 226 (270) ▼ 16.3% 42 (59) ▼ 28.8%
Percent Sold 75.7% (69.7%) ▲ 8.6% 76.1% (71.1%) ▲ 7.0% 73.7% (64.1%) ▲ 15.0%
Total Raised £33.6M (£35.5M) ▼ 5.2% £22.6M (£26.4M) ▼ 14.1% £11.0M (£9.1M) ▲ 20.4%

West Midlands

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

July 2020 to September 2020 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 645 (896) ▼ 28.0% 587 (773) ▼ 24.1% 58 (123) ▼ 52.8%
Lots Sold 529 (668) ▼ 20.8% 484 (568) ▼ 14.8% 45 (100) ▼ 55.0%
Percent Sold 82.0% (74.6%) ▲ 9.9% 82.5% (73.5%) ▲ 12.2% 77.6% (81.3%) ▼ 4.6%
Total Raised £76.6M (£96.7M) ▼ 20.8% £65.9M (£70.6M) ▼ 6.7% £10.7M (£26.1M) ▼ 59.0%

Yorkshire and The Humber

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

July 2020 to September 2020 Total Residential Commercial
Lots Offered 420 (721) ▼ 41.7% 354 (610) ▼ 42.0% 66 (111) ▼ 40.5%
Lots Sold 335 (566) ▼ 40.8% 288 (479) ▼ 39.9% 47 (87) ▼ 46.0%
Percent Sold 79.8% (78.5%) ▲ 1.7% 81.4% (78.5%) ▲ 3.7% 71.2% (78.4%) ▼ 9.2%
Total Raised £40.6M (£68.2M) ▼ 40.4% £31.2M (£46.6M) ▼ 33.0% £9.4M (£21.6M) ▼ 56.3%

 

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