The 1 April stamp duty surcharge did not have the negative impact on auctions that had been feared, according to Essential Information Group managing director David Sandeman.
EIG figures for April showed marginal falls in the number of residential lots offered were down by 1.8% year on year. The number sold was down by 1.4%, while residential auction receipts came to £213.3m – a 3.1% rise.
Sandeman said: “Following the stamp duty change, many commentators expected the private treaty market to decline sharply in April. However, the residential auction figures show that it was business as usual in the auction market.”
Some 139 UK property auctions were held in April, equating to 2,462 lots – down by 8.1% on last year.
None of the major commercial auction houses held a sale last month, meaning that 141 fewer lots were sold than in the previous year.
Rolling quarterly figures show a 5% growth in the lots offered and sold, and a 23% gain in the amount raised compared with the same period last year – £250m in real terms.
