A freehold terrace of 11 three-storey houses in London, E1, sold for £7.5m at Allsop’s residential sale last week.
The unbroken terrace was guided at £7m-£7.25m, making it the most expensive lot in the catalogue. The sale price reflects a 3.6% yield based on income from eight of the houses, while three are vacant.
Each house has four bedrooms and Allsop said there was scope to rearrange rooms internally to enhance lettings to sharers.
Freehold block
A further four £1m-plus lots were sold. They included a freehold block of 27 flats in Newcastle, which went for £1.3m – a 10.7% yield.
The sale raised a total of £50m and achieved a 79% success rate from 169 lots offered. However, almost 50 properties were withdrawn prior to the sale.
A rarely available freehold opportunity in Mayfair, W1, failed to find a buyer on the day, but partner Richard Adamson said that interest had been strong and he expected a sale to be concluded in the next week. The mews building on Adam’s Row, behind Mount Street, was offered with planning permission for redevelopment into a five-bedroom home. It was guided at £5.25m.
A vacant shop and upper parts in Reading, with potential to reconfigure the space, sold for £575,000 against a £300,000 guide.
Cautious market
Gary Murphy, partner, said: “Generally, the market remains cautious. However, once competitive bidding was underway, we saw sufficient enthusiasm and momentum to achieve strong results on the day. Buyers need to be coaxed by attractive pricing. This approach is particularly important in the current climate.”
The cheapest lot was offered with nil reserve on behalf of National Grid and sold for £1. The 0.168 acre site in Laurencekirk, Scotland, is let to telecoms company Arqiva until June 2099 on a peppercorn rent.
The auction took place on 13 September at the Cumberland Hotel, W1.
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