Property auctioneers are predicting a “Boris bounce” to push up sales rates as they prepare for the first auctions of 2020.
This week, many of the country’s biggest auctions houses published their first catalogues of the year, giving the clearest indication so far of how the market is performing following Boris Johnson’s decisive General Election victory.
For many, the new year appears to have brought an increase in volumes, with Barnard Marcus, Savills and Acuitus all offering more lots at auction than they did in their February sales a year ago.
Acuitus said it would offer 51 lots at its 12 February sale at the Montcalm London Marble Arch, W1 – up from the 40 it offered a year earlier.
“There is more positivity in the wake of the General Election, and sentiment is definitely on an upward trend after two to three years of decline,” said Acuitus chairman and auctioneer Richard Auterac.
“The first auction of a new year is always keenly followed by the market generally as a real-life measure of market sentiment, and as an opportunity for investors to begin to satisfy their acquisition targets for the year.”
Savills revealed that it would offer 173 lots at its 12 February London & National sale at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square, W1, compared with 127 last year.
“What we saw at the end of last year was an air of confidence return to the ballroom,” said Chris Coleman-Smith, head of Savills auctions. “For some, the certainty of a majority government is what they needed to get off the fence and back to being active in the market. For that reason, we do anticipate good activity levels and attendee numbers at our February auction as people are now more committed to transact.”
He added: “We’re offering several lots on behalf of buyers who have been on pause for a while but feel that now is the right time to sell. But at the same time, we’ve needed to work especially closely with those sellers, picking up on buyer sentiment to set their guide pricing and keep expectations realistic.”
However, Allsop said both its residential sale on 13 February at the InterContinental London Park Lane, W1, and its commercial auction on 11 February at the Berkeley, Wilton Place, SW1, would comprise fewer lots than they had last year.
Allsop’s first residential catalogue of the year contains 230 lots, down from 272 a year earlier, while the firm’s commercial arm will be offering 113 lots, compared with the 132 offered at its February 2019 sale.
Richard Adamson, partner and auctioneer at Allsop, said: “Most of us in the property industry were pleased to see the back of last year. The property market has arguably seen some positive movement since the General Election, proving that there has indeed been somewhat of a Boris bounce.
“The early signs for 2020 seem to be supporting this sentiment, and our February catalogue illustrates this view.”
