Having now been in auctions for 25 years, I have seen many changes. But the end of caveat emptor, or buyer beware, was probably one of the best.
The change put more responsibility on auctioneers to make sure they describe what they are selling accurately and do not hold back information either deliberately or because they simply don’t have it. This has led bidders to trust what they read, as they will now have, or should have, the full picture of the home, asset or investment they are hoping to purchase.
This raises the question of whether to appoint either a local auctioneer who knows the property and area, or a London-based firm. Rather like the EU referendum, it is difficult to distinguish between logic, common sense, and self interest. Naturally, as the head of one of the leading firms of regional auctioneers, I come from the local knowledge, national coverage camp.
With five regional offices across the areas we cover, we have local auctioneers and appraisers looking at potential lots in order to foresee any problems, which could be anything from a planning issue to contamination problems, or a planned major road scheme. It also means that interested parties have the chance to speak to someone who knows and understands the area. And they are all employed directly by us, not freelancers on a fixed fee.
I had to laugh a few weeks ago when I was reading a catalogue of one of our competitors that stated a property was in the pretty cathedral “town” of Canterbury! Canterbury is probably one of the best-known cities in the country. It also went on to say that you could be in Europe within half an hour by train from Canterbury West station. I have lived in the area all my life and I am positive you can’t, as the train doesn’t go to Europe from Canterbury. Unfortunately, if a negotiator gets carried away, and doesn’t know the area, they end up misleading the buyer – and ignorance is no excuse.
Then there is the argument that London attracts a wider audience, a statement that does not bear scrutiny. For our Kent auction alone, we had to commission a bespoke building with ample parking to accommodate the 1,200 to 1,500 attendees per sale. No hotel was large enough to comply with the fire certification. And we have had 300 to 600 people at each of the other four venues where we take the lots to the buyers – a total audience of around 3,000 for the 160-180 lots catalogued. Name me a London auction covering the whole country with such an attendance.
The notion that London buyers, buying blind, will spend more than well-informed buyers in the regions is also a fallacy. For each property that was resold in London for more than was achieved in the provinces, we have many more cases of repossessions sold in London being resold for more by a local auctioneer. Why else would a standard repossession contract offered by some lenders and asset managers include a clause that the lot must not be resold within six months of purchase?
So, in a nutshell, there are two convincing sides of the argument: I cannot imagine that I would have a better result from selling a lot in Park Lane or Knightsbridge than a top London auctioneer would have. The same argument could be used for those lots in Kent or Cornwall sold remotely in London. The only exception may be a small local auction house that offers just a handful of lots twice as year, where the budget for promotion outside their immediate area is restricted. That’s where the established regional auction houses come to the fore.
Luckily, there is plenty of business for us all to enjoy a living and not to fight over a decision which, in the end, is down to the client.
Choose a reputable, local, qualified auctioneer, with a substantial advertising budget, and you cannot go wrong, whether the property is in London or the provinces. But then I would say that, wouldn’t I?
James Emson is managing director of Clive Emson Auctioneers
