Auction market ‘off to strong start’

More residential properties went under the hammer last year but a smaller proportion sold, industry figures show.

Data from the Essential Information Group (EIG) shows a 3.3% drop in the proportion of residential auction properties sold during 2023.

However, there was an 18.8% rise in lots offered during the year at 31,549 and a 14.8% rise in sales to 22,116

The percentage sold dropped from 72.5% to 70.1% but the total raised hit £3,724.9m, up 4.9% annually.

David Sandeman, director at the EIG, said the surge in sales and more conservative growth in the total raised contributed to a year-on-year decrease in the average sale price to £168,426 - a notable 8.6% drop from 2022.

He said: “This marks the first decrease in recent history, mirroring what is being reported by the private treaty sector by estate agencies.

“The amount of decrease could be down to numerous factors, including variations in property type and size coming to auction with overall lower value stock coming to market, as well as differences in regional performance too.

“Despite this, there are positive indicators of market improvement. Buyer confidence appears to be rebounding with the gradual reduction in mortgage interest rates, making January 2024 poised to be one of the busiest on record.”

Auction houses have since reported a strong start to the year.

Jamie Cooke, co-Founder of iamproperty, said stock levels are the highest they have ever been.

He said: “It is really encouraging to see this level of uplift in activity going into 2024, as the demand for auction continues following our highest selling year on record.”

Despite it being a challenging year from an economic perspective, Cooke said appetite for auction held strong in 2023, and iamproperty sold more than 9,400 properties across the year, meaning its auction transactions made up 1% of all UK residential property sales for the first time.

He added: “Whilst there’s still a lot of uncertainty in the market, there’s early signs that things are beginning move in the right direction, which is hopefully reassuring for agents and sellers.”