Savills raised £18.5m at its March auction, despite being forced to run the sale from auctioneer Robin Howeson’s home.
Talking directly via a live video stream, Howeson received proxy, internet and telephone bids, supported by an IT specialist and a team of colleagues, all based remotely to ensure that the latest social distancing guidelines were followed for the duration of the auction.
Savills sold 45 of the 67 lots offered at a scrambled sale on 26 March, after the government issued strict new rules prohibiting meetings of more than two people just days before the auction was due to take place.
The result was 12% down on the auction house’s second sale of the year in 2019, when it raised £21m.
The lot that achieved the highest price was a four-bedroom semi-detached house in Queens Park, NW6, which sold for £1.67m.
Other key sales included a 2,127 sq ft mews house in Holland Park, W14 (pictured), which was being offered by landlord Grainger and sold for £1.25m; an office building with development potential in East Dulwich, SE22, which sold for £1.08m; and a four-bedroom mid-terrace house in need of modernisation in Putney, SW15, which was sold by the London Borough of Wandsworth for £900,000.
Chris Coleman-Smith, head of Savills auctions, commented:
“To be able to deliver such strong results for our clients via our first-ever remote bidding-only auction is a great achievement. Although we’ve always offered online, telephone and proxy bidding alongside the ballroom, this was a new way of operating for us, and nearly 30 team members were all working remotely to power the auction. All lots were offered by a single auctioneer who did a remarkable job in keeping the day and the proceedings running smoothly.
“We know that the auction is often seen as the front line of housing market activity so the result is significant, and the fact that five properties went under the hammer for more than £1m indicates the faith that buyers have in the market. There was competitive bidding throughout the day and already we’ve had some great feedback from clients who are extremely pleased with the sales achieved for them.
“What this all shows is that we can adapt where required and are able to service clients efficiently, even if the parameters of how we do it may have changed.”
Savills’ next scheduled auction will take place on 6 May.
