Investors were seeking a safe haven for their funds at Bigwood’s £7.7m auction in Birmingham last week.
The 79 lots were offered mainly on behalf of Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries and Bradford Property Trust. Auctioneer Christopher Ironmonger said prices for the first two-thirds of the catalogue averaged some 35% above reserves.
“It’s not that our reserves are low,” he said. “They are reasonable but the market was just taking them away. There is no doubt that a lot of people are eager to get into property investment, competing to such an extent that they go past what we would reasonably expect.”
The first lot, Bailey Court in Bradley Stoke, Bristol, set the tone when it was knocked down at £1.33m. The retail and commercial investment in Webbs Wood Road sold off an 8.1% net yield.
This was followed by the £770,000 sale of Ropewalk, an office investment in St Paul’s Square, Birmingham. With a current income of £70,250 pa, the yield was 8.6%.
Residential stock also sold well, although Ironmonger said he was at a loss to explain the difference in prices achieved for 12 residential investments in Bradmore, Wolverhampton.
The terraced and semi-detached houses sold for between £43,000 and £66,000 and were a mix of registered rents and assured shorthold tenancies as well as one vacant property.
