The total at Savills’ first residential auction of 2010 reached £41m – a result not seen since 2007.
The success rate at the two-day sale at the Royal Garden hotel, W2, on 15 and 16 February, was 89%, as 179 of the 202 lots on offer sold. It is Savills’ strongest residential result for three years.
Totals peaked at £42m in February 2007, with a 93% success rate.
Auctioneer Christopher Coleman-Smith said: “It was a fantastic sale, despite some London stock being withdrawn late in the day. The remaining ingredients were magic. We were delighted with the outcome on properties in Leeds, Bradford and Manchester, where prices hardened. The uplift in prices that started mid-2008 is continuing.”
More northern properties than usual went under the hammer, although 60% of lots were based in the South East. Prices averaged at £229,000.
Notable sales included a redevelopment opportunity in Forest Hill, SE23, being offered by the London Borough of Lewisham. The Old Fire Station, a Grade II listed building (pictured) guided at £400,000, sold for £1m.
Susanne Nedas, a professional residential investor, acquired two flats in Canfield Gardens, NW3, guided at £210,000, for £215,000, and a flat in Alderney Street, SW1, guided at £300,000, for £344,000.
Housing association Places for People sold a northern portfolio, which included a double-fronted house near Nottingham requiring refurbishment. It made £236,000 off its £135,000 guide.
