A lack of residential stock in the capital lured 300 investors to bid for 76 sites at an Andrew Scott Robertson auction this week.
Of the largely residential lots, 66 were sold, marking a 87% success rate and raising £16.4m.
In comparison, 12 months ago, 77% of 91 lots were sold, generating £12.2m.
Jeremy Lamb, associate director and auctioneer at Andrew Scott Robertson, said: “The large proportion of lots were vacant flats. We saw a lot more new faces than normal and this is because of lack of stock. It is getting very difficult to buy out there through any medium, so more are looking at auctions.”
The largest asset sold was vacant 385-387 Clapham Road, SW9, on behalf of Lambeth council, which raised £2.2m off a guide of £1.9m. It was bought by a private UK buyer.
Competition for development opportunities was high. One private developer paid Enfield council £605,000 for a 0.14-acre site in Winchmore Hill, after offers of £350,000 had first been sought.
The auction took place at the Hotel Russell, WC1.
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
