The volume of properties sold at auction continued to fall last month amid mounting fears over the economic effect of a no-deal Brexit and continued gloom from high street retailers.
According to auctions data specialist Essential Information Group, the total amount raised in UK property auctions in October 2019 stood at £410.3m, down by 14.7% on the same period a year earlier.
Although the number of auctions held during October stood at 116 – just one fewer than the number held in October 2018 – the total number of lots offered fell by 7.2% while the total number of lots sold was down by 6%.
However, there was a marked difference between the residential and commercial sectors, with residential lots offered and sold falling by just 4.5% and 1.9% respectively compared with a year ago, while commercial lots offered and sold fell by 17.2% and 20% respectively over the same period.
In total, the amount raised at auction in October from the sale of residential property rose by 0.9% compared with a year earlier to stand at £277.5m, while the amount raised from the sale of commercial property was down by a hefty 35.6% to stand at £132.9m.
EIG founder David Sandeman pointed out that, despite the fall in volumes, the proportion of property sold at auction had actually increased compared with a year earlier (from 72.4% to 73.3%), while the rolling quarter and yearly success rate figures also show small gains on the respective periods last year.
“The industry sale rate has remained steady and largely comparable to the long-term average,” he said.
