The UK’s leading property auctioneer Auction House – operating as Auction
House Loveitts in Coventry and Warwickshire - has announced impressive results
for June 2020 despite the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, with sales exceeding
80% of last year’s level, and website visits up by 52% year on year, with over
1.7m page views during the month.
In June
Auction House offered 318 lots and sold 259 – a buoyant success rate of 81.5%,
raising over £34m (£34,350,532) in the process.
Commenting
on the results, Sally Smith, Auctioneer and Director said: “It’s clear that the
auctions market is regaining the momentum lost during lockdown, with sellers
and buyers returning in substantial numbers. Demand is strong, and the prices
being achieved are impressive. So, it’s fair to say that we are well on the way
back to a new normal.
“While our
room auctions are paused, people have widely accepted the alternatives of
bidding online, by proxy or by phone, and have taken to viewing our livestream
sales in huge numbers. The market still has some catching up to do, because many
sellers held-back during the tight lockdown months – but auctions are
completely operational again, and Auction House is fully open for business!”
Successful
sales at the end of May included a 3 bedroom semi detached house in Rugby
guided at £120,000 selling for £180,000; a property that had a potential for 2
retail units and a 2 bedroom flat in Coventry with a guide price of £135,000
which sold for £152,000
Sally
Smith said: “In particular, buyer demand has shot up and this creates a big
opportunity for sellers who have properties that they want to sell quickly. For
valuations and viewings, we have Covid-secure procedures in place. We can even
appraise properties online if necessary and are confident that we can sell all
types of auction stock in a busy market.
“Auctions
have grown in popularity during lockdown, and more sellers and buyers are turning
to our speedy and certain method of sale – as can be seen by the huge jump in
our website traffic. In fact, there is so much demand, the prices we can secure
will usually be ahead of expectations.”
Interestingly,
last month saw the highest average selling price this year, jumping from
£92,642 in April, to £132,627 in June – a 6.4% increase compared to the same
time in 2019. Sally Smith explained: “I would put this down to a combination of
market mix and a reflection of demand. More and more larger properties are
coming to the auction market, and strong prices are being achieved because
people are competing for them!
“From the
properties we have already listed, we can see that July will be a big selling
month and – with many of us putting off summer holiday plans - we fully expect
August to be busy too!”