Demand for residential assets pushed the total value of lots sold at auction up by 10% during Q3, according to the latest figures from Essential Information Group.
The total raised from residential lots between July and September was £692m, compared with £588m in Q3 2012. In the year-to-date, residential totals jumped by almost 10% to £2.6bn.
While the number of residential lots on offer dipped slightly to 7,125, from 7,168 in the same quarter last year, the number sold rose 3.3%, leading to a higher success rate of 75%.
Slightly offsetting the residential rise was a dip in commercial sales over Q3, with total value standing at £200m, compared with £210m in 2012. Year-to-date figures remained relatively static at £1bn.
The strongest regions for sales across the board over Q3 were London (£211m), the South East (£121m), the North West (£90m) and the West Midlands (£77m).
The fastest acceleration in sales was recorded in the South West, where sales volumes jumped by 31% to £78m, driven by a residential increase of 37.2%.
Sales also jumped in the West Midlands, where the number of lots sold soared by 27.5%, led by a residential boost of 36.8%; and in London, where the amount sold was 32.5% higher in Q3 2013 than in Q3 2012.
Savills residential auctioneer director Chris Coleman Smith said interest had “certainly been a lot higher than last year”, and described the market as “very buoyant” and sentiment as “very positive”. He added that regional interest at the national auctions was beginning to pick up again.
“The nearer you get to central London, the viewing levels and interest goes ballistic, and that carries through to the private market. And while we always get massive interest within the M25, we’ve had more South East buyers seeing that the regional areas offer more value.
“There’s a bit of lag catching up in terms of price, but they’ll increasingly look and see if they can buy three properties up north compared to one down here, and see if they can get more value and a higher return with a little more risk.”
However, the recovery has not spread to all corners of the UK, with Wales seeing a dip of 17.5% in sales volumes to £36m led by a decline in commercial, which sank 41.8%. Scotland’s volumes also decreased, dropping by ?12% to £8.5m.
chris.berkin@estatesgazette.com
