July Property Auction Market Update

Did Buyers Vote With Their Cash?

Amidst election fever, what happened at the residential property auctions in June 2024? In this monthly update we will take a closer look at current trends in sales volumes, percentages sold, amounts raised and other interesting trends in the residential auctions market.

Number of lots offered

The number of lots offered at residential auctions has been surging ahead in recent months (a slow January excepted) so the question many will have been asking is – will the buoyant market continue?

The answer was yes. Over 2,900 lots were offered in June at the sales we track. While this was down on a very busy May it was still well above June 2023 – and 10% above the running monthly average over the last year.

Who held sales? Which were biggest?

Most of the main auction houses held sales in June – Allsop, Barnard Marcus, Savills and the Auction House network had the largest auctions by lot numbers. Allsop’s June residential auction was the auctioneer’s largest auction since September 2021.

Freehold Terrace of Three Houses in Abingdon, Oxfordshire Sold Through Allsop Residential Auctions (July 2024)

Percentages sold

Sales rates were, following the trend of recent months, very healthy again this month. A full three in every four lots offered at live/live streamed auctions found a buyer. The sales rate for online auctions was only very slightly behind.

Sales rates at individual sales were strong with a handful of sales selling all their lots. Even the poorest-performing sales sold half of their lots – which can hardly be described as a poor performance.

Amount raised

Around £407m was raised at the auctions we track in June. Although, again, this was down on May it was well above the monthly average over the last 12 months. This month online auction sales accounted for around two thirds of the total amount raised.

Average amount per sale

The average price of a residential property sold at auction in the UK hovered around £140,000 in June.

Average sales prices have been consistently strong over the last few months now. They compare with an average sales price of just £123,000 12 months ago – a circa 15% rise in a period when wider property prices haven’t changed much.

Comment

Allsop’s June residential auction was the auctioneer’s largest auction since September 2021. They report that it highlighted growing confidence in the market among vendors and a continued demand for well priced residential and mixed used properties.

Richard Adamson, managing partner and residential auctioneer at Allsop comments:  “We are delighted with another very strong result, the largest sale we have had for almost three years with a success rate well above the industry standard of 70%. This is a testament to the unrivalled experience of our team together with some very disciplined clients prepared to be led by the market. The easing of inflation and predication of interest rate cuts is starting to breath confidence back into the market even with a pending general election. There is clearly strong demand for well priced residential and mixed use assets as investors chase income and value add opportunities. We are already taking instruction for our July sale which we expect to be of high quality and with plenty of volume.”

Summary

At the start of last month, many people will have wondered whether the announcement of a general election would have slowed the auction market. Would buyers and sellers take a ‘wait and see’ approach? It didn’t seem to, business seemed to be brisk – continuing the trend of recent months.

However, it will be very interesting to see if the election of a new government this week does have any impact on what buyers and sellers do at the auctions in July. Will sellers rush to sell in anticipation of any new laws which might affect the property sector or will they sit tight? Will buyers see the degree of certainty that the election has brought to the country as an opportunity, or will they hold back?  Another factor at play will be the direction of the interest rate which, now the election is done, is almost certain to start on a downward trajectory soon.

It needs to be borne in mind, of course, that late July and August are traditionally slow times in the auctions anyway due to the holiday period. So it could be the autumn before the impact of the general election result on the market starts to become apparent.

Check out our monthly updated statistics below, courtesy of the Essential Information Group (click on the key colours to highlight / dehighlight):

Live / Live Streamed Property Auctions Data

Online Property Auctions Data