Bidders bought selectively at Barnard Marcus’s April auction, choosing land and keenly priced residential stock with added value potential.
The 27 April sale at the New Connaught Rooms, WC2, raised £12m. This reflected a 68% success rate as 119 out of 177 lots sold.
Many lots were sold to first-time private buyers rather than professional buy-to-let landlords, said auctioneer Chris Glenn.
“It was clear that people are making use of cash surpluses generated by interest rate cuts and looking for alternative vehicles to traditional pension funds, so they are placing their faith in property,” he said.
A portfolio of five land sites with planning permission for holiday homes at Pentney Lakes Village near King’s Lynn, Norfolk, with a collective guide of £125,000, proved to be popular. It sold for £205,000.
A leasehold flat in Barons Court, W14, stimulated keen interest prior to auction with more than 120 requests for legal packs. It achieved £214,000 off a guide of £125,000.
A detached house arranged as two flats with a swimming pool, stables and workshops in Ferndown, Dorset, offered on behalf of the Halifax with a £290,000 guide, sold for £312,000.
