Bond Wolfe Auctions raised £17m from its first live-streamed auction, achieving a 98% success rate.
The firm offered 128 lots, with 125 finding buyers. Only three lots were withdrawn prior.
However, the auction on 24 June proved so popular it suffered a delayed start when the third-party website hosting the online bidding system crashed due to the volume of bidders logging in.
Prior to the auction day there were 25,381 phone enquiries and 107,513 legal documents were downloaded. The auction had more than 3,000 registered bidders and on the day 28,786 watched the auction live.
Gurpreet Bassi, chief executive of Bond Wolfe Auctions, said: “Having taken the very difficult decision to cancel our May auction, as we felt that it was the only responsible and safe action to take during the peak stages of the pandemic, this was our first ‘behind closed doors’ remote-bidding-only auction.
“When the auction did finally begin, bidders were chomping at the bit and we achieved some fantastic results. The hosting company tell us this was a record number of bidders for any single auction that they have ever experienced.”
The highest price was paid for Church Garth (lot 36), a six-bedroom former gentleman’s residence in Bickenhill, Solihull, which sold for just over £1m from a £495,000 guide.
Other highlights included a three-bedroom, semi-detached house in Sheldon, Birmingham, which sold for £187,000 from a guide of £25,000.
A four-bedroom, detached property in Oldbury sold for £250,000 from a £99,000 guide price. In the East Midlands, a three bedroom, semi-detached house in Leicester sold for £172,000 off a guide of £60,000.
Investments also sold well, with a three-bedroom property in Quarry Bank, Brierley Hill, finally selling for £138,000 off a guide of £74,000.
In Warwickshire, a six-bedroom, semi-detached house in Kineton realised £296,000 from a £150,000 guide price. Back in the Black Country, a three-bedroom semi-detached property in Oldbury sold for £196,000 off a guide price of £50,000.
Bassi added: “The hard work and commitment of the Bond Wolfe Auctions staff throughout this difficult lockdown period has been awe-inspiring and they all deserve the success that they achieved.”
Bond Wolfe Auction’s next auction will be another remote-bidding event on 29 July.
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