A mixed retail and residential investment on City Road, EC1, sold for £1.3m above guide at Strettons’ May sale.
Currently producing £232,320 pa, it sold for £2.75m after extremely competitive bidding. The process saw the eventual winning bidder increase bids at £100,000 increments.
Overall, the sale raised in excess of £8.33m with a 92% success rate, the firm’s best results so far this year.
The City Road property (pictured) was the first lot in the sale and set the tone. Lot 2 was a freehold vacant property comprising three flats on Amhurst Road in Hackney, E8, which sold for £1.152m against a guide of £925,000-plus. Lot 3 was a freehold vacant double shop and upper parts on Hoe Street, Walthamstow, 17, which sold for £1.261m against a guide of £1m.
The sale also featured a variety of development sites, including a series of billboard sites sold on behalf of JC Decaux, which all performed strongly. In Bournemouth and neighbouring Christchurch, a trio of billboard sites all sold for above guide, with prices ranging from £135,000 to £165,000.
In Hayling Island, Hampshire, the site of a former electricity substation with development potential sold for £104,000 off a guide of £60,000-£65,000, and a freehold vacant site with development potential in Shepherds Bush, W12, sold for £408,000 off a guide price of £280,000-£300,000.
Strettons auctions director Andrew Brown said: “The star lot of the sale was undoubtedly Lot 1, the City Road property. With over 100 copies of the legal pack downloaded and 26 bidders registered, we thought it was going to do well, but our expectations were surpassed when the hammer finally fell at £1.3m above the guide price. The bidding was so competitive that it took over an hour to complete the sales of the first three lots.”
“The results show that Strettons has handled the move to remote auctions well and that there is now plenty of demand from buyers who may have bided their time over previous months. From our experience, it seems that many investors now consider this is the right time to add to their portfolios.”
Strettons’ next sale will take place on 14 July.
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