Savills ‘encouraged’ by 72% sale rate

Savills said it was “encouraged” by the results of its November auction, where it raised £22m with a 72% success rate. The auctioneer sold a total of 75 of the 106 lots offered at its London and National sale on 4 November. Standout lots included a six bedroom farmhouse in Barrington, Cambridgeshire, which was guided at £1m but eventually sold for £1.29m. In Herne Hill, SE24, a rarely available four bedroom Edwardian terraced house sold for £1.33m off a guide of £850,000. But other lots valued at over £1m failed to sell. These included the property with the highest guide price, a Georgian terraced house on Willoughby Street, WC1, comprising a garden flat and eight studio apartments, which has an income of £168,241 a year and was guided at £2.8m. It is now available at £2.75m. Last November Savills raised £29.7m with a 70% success rate after it offered 142 lots. “We are encouraged by this result; to sell more than £22m worth of property and achieve a success rate of circa 72% is a good outcome given the environment we’re operating in,” said Chris Coleman-Smith, head of auctions at Savills. “Attendance figures across the year have been pretty consistent and the room has always been busy. What we have tended to find is that people are now sitting in one of two camps; they’re either very committed and looking to buy, or they are in the room to do their homework and assess the lay of the land before committing in the future. “From speaking to buyers, we know that there are people wanting to buy before the end of the year, so ensuring we have a December catalogue with widespread appeal is crucial.” Savills’ final London – National auction of the year will take place on 16 December at the Berkeley Hotel, SW1.