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Property market continues lockdown surge as Nottingham auction house brings down hammer on “staggering” results

Property market continues lockdown surge as Nottingham auction house brings down hammer on “staggering” results

Nottingham-based Auction Estates turned to modern technology to sell property worth £3.65m in its latest auction, despite earlier fears that the event might not take place.

 
Viewing restrictions due to Covid-19 and the unpredictable economic situation led to concerns in January that the firm would not have its usual level of properties to fill its catalogue for the February 18 auction.
 
But a late surge in lots from across the UK, combined with new ‘virtual’ video tours created for each property by Auction Estates, meant the online auction not only went ahead but actually returned one of its best results.
 
The unexpected upturn, which saw 91 per cent of lots sold, surprised many at the auction house, not least because the figures closely matched those from February 2020 – when the firm’s last “in room” auction took place before the UK went into lockdown.
 
Attracting more than 200 pre-registered bidders, unexpected highlights saw one
parcel of land in Manchester, with a guide price of £80,000-plus, sell for a massive £611,000. Another small piece of land near to Nottingham University’s campus sold for more than five times its £25,000 guide price.
 
“The results for February were staggering,” said Head Auctioneer Paul Giles. “It’s not unusual to see certain lots reach record prices, but what surprised us the most was the number of lots we sold that appeared marginal, where clients had set high reserve prices.
 
“Our new virtual viewing tours, which are posted with the property information on our website, have proved extremely useful for buyers, particularly as we show the properties in such detail, warts and all.”
 
Paul puts the success of the February online auction partly down to buyers recognising their money will work harder in property, where rental returns average between five and seven per cent, than in the bank, where interest rates are low and increased bank charges are on the horizon.
 
The company, based in Carlton, Nottingham, also saw a marked increase in buyers from London and overseas, who are seeing huge potential in the East Midlands property market.
 
Paul said:
“We would normally expect February - our first auction of the year, to be the most challenging. Yet, despite being held behind closed doors, bidders are becoming more comfortable during lockdown with using virtual technology to secure property, so we are delighted with the positive trend we’ve witnessed.”
 
He believes that this pattern will continue for the rest of the year, but when banks begin to place more properties into receivership once the true economic fallout of the pandemic begins to hit harder, he feels that the auction market will grow ever stronger and be the preferred platform for property transactions.
 
Auction Estates will be holding its next online auction on April 15, which still allows time for sellers to include their properties and buyers to pre-register.
 
For further information on selling your property by online auction or
registering as a bidder, visit www.auctionestates.co.uk, email
info@auctionestates.co.uk or phone 0115 7844 600.

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