Auction House – operating as Loveitts Auction House in Coventry and
Warwickshire - is continuing to sell properties during the lockdown for the
coronavirus outbreak, at a time when most estate agents and even other property
auctioneers have put business on hold.
The group
sold more than 150 lots during the first two weeks of the restrictions coming
into place – many of them well above their guide prices - by transferring its
usual room auction lots to its online operation.
Sally
Smith said: “We’ve been thrilled with how
successfully our tried and trusted system of selling online has clicked into
place. Auctions have either been held ‘eBay-style’ on the web, or via a
live-stream with bids coming in on the telephone, online or by proxy.
“Crucially,
many lots are selling for far more than their guide prices too. Six bidders
pushed a derelict house and land in Meriden guided at £200,000-£220,000 up to £315,000
with 124 bids being placed! Competing
bids meant that a vacant house in Coventry surged from its guide price of £110,000-£130,000
to a sold price of £182,000”
Sally says
that the fact that auction entries include a high proportion of empty
properties and land has enabled the group to market available lots almost as
intensively as before. He explains: “Whilst of course we can’t offer viewings
in the normal way, we can record guided video tours of vacant properties, and
even tours streamed live on Facebook, with buyers’ questions being answered in
real time.”
The
success of online sales comes at the end of a busy March, which saw Auction
House offer 318 lots in total, selling 225 of these at a success rate of 70.8%,
with more than £27 million raised in the month (£27,095,818). First Quarter
figures are looking strong too – and are the second highest ever recorded by
the group, with 947 lots offered and 732 lots
sold, at an average success rate of 77.3% and collective sales of over £89 million (£89,041,190).
Sally
adds: “Auction House was absolutely flying up until the restrictions hit, and
the appetite for selling by auction had certainly strengthened. But even in
this more challenging trading environment, we are still very much open for
business. We are continuing to take new auction entries, marketing them and
hammering lots down, with an immediate exchange of contracts.
“In fact,
the number of entries for April sits at an impressive total of more than 400
already. And whilst this is around a 30% drop compared to last year, it’s still
well above the 70% fall in private treaty instructions that Zoopla are
currently reporting.
“All in
all, despite the restrictions, we’re delighted to be delivering sales for our
sellers – especially those who urgently need to sell - and enabling auction
buyers to purchase, with online bid numbers on popular lots at a similar level
to our auction room experiences.”