Leading property auctioneer Auction
House – which has a branch in Coventry & Warwickshire - has reported
increased sales for 2018 of 6.9%, raising a total of over £455m (£455,131,080),
a record amount in the 11 year history of the group.
Last year, Auction House sold 3,680
lots from almost 5,000 lots offered (4,971), representing a success rate of
74%.
Commenting on the latest figures,
Sally Smith, Loveitts Director and Auctioneer said: “This is a
remarkable result for 2018, especially against such a challenging background,
with political uncertainty a significant and ever-present factor. It’s good to
add yet another step to our market share staircase - at a time when nearly
every one of our competitors has seen volumes falling – and achieve incremental
growth for the 11th year in succession.
“What’s more, there seems to have
been a noticeable fall in the sector nationally, with figures suggesting that
between December 2017 and November 2018 the market dropped by around 7%. If
this trend continued into December, as seems likely, it means that Auction
House would have delivered ahead of the market by a massive 14% over the course
of the year.”
The figures for December were also
well ahead of expectations. Last month the group sold 430 lots from 612 offered
- a success rate of 70.3% with over £50m raised (£52,792,108).
Sally Smith added: “Not only were
December’s figures impressive, but our early listings for 2019 auctions are
already looking good too. There are currently over 220 properties due to be
offered in forthcoming sales, including around 20 lots in our National Online
Auction on the 24th January.
“Interestingly, many vendors are now
telling us that they want to sell this tax year and before Brexit Day. For this
reason, we expect entry levels to stay strong in the first quarter.
“Whilst buyer numbers were down in
the final quarter of last year, we didn’t experience the dramatic drop forecast
by many. Local knowledge and keen pricing are the key ingredients for
successful auctions in a difficult climate, and Auction House, with its 40
auction rooms, is best-positioned to deliver.
“Looking further ahead, whatever
happens with the Brexit process will inevitably have an impact on the market;
but the latest figures certainly mark a very positive end to 2018.”