Agents benefit as auction sales rise

Agents working with iamproperty sold more than 7,000 properties through its auction service last year, the proptech firm has revealed, as it predicts a shift from investors to owner-occupiers.

That is a 40% increase in 2021.

New data released by iamproperty shows a spike in auction activity in the south, with 2022 sales, instructions and viewings overtaking the north for the first time.

Southern sales made up 35% of iamproperty’s 2022 auction sales. 

Although agents in the South saw particular success, demand for auction reached record levels across the UK, iampropertysaid.

Partner agent earnings from auction sales also hit a record-breaking £25m, up 46% from 2021. 

More than £400,000 in rewards were also paid out. These record earnings were made possible by more than £1.25bn capital value worth of property sold via the modern method of auction (MMoA) in 2022, a 54% increase on 2021.
 

Jamie Cooke, co-founder of iamproperty, said: “2022 showed that the market is highly responsive to auction as a method of sale that offers real-world benefits. 

“With 56-day fixed completion timescales, MMoA’s speed and security have great appeal to both agents and vendors, protecting transactions from the climbing rate of fall throughs and long private treaty completion timeframes.

“The volume of auction sales is growing across the country, particularly in the South which has seen increased uptake from agents and vendors. 

“Awareness of auction and confidence in it has grown massively over the last few years, as it continues to prove its value in any type of market.”

The brand revealed that consumer engagement with auction spiked in 2022, with more than 60,000 bids placed on iamproperty’s auction properties. 

The highest sale price was £1.6m, with the increase in million-pound homes bought at auction continuing. 

The number of properties sold to owner occupied buyers also increased.

Cooke added: “A trend I expect to continue is further growth in owner occupied buyers purchasing via auction, which accounted for an average of 42% of sales each month in 2022. 

“Auction is no longer only attractive for investors, with its fast and secure transactions helping people to move into their homes quicker.”