The festive month of December looks like a merry one at Auction House, as the group celebrates a record number of lots entered into its auctions—an increase of over a third (37%) on last year’s total.
Auction House, which has a branch throughout the North West and is known regionally as Auction House North West, has scheduled 25 auctions between the 1st and 15th of December, involving 679 lots—a massive 182 ahead of last year.
Commenting on the figures, Director Stuart Cooper said:
“Listing a record number of lots in a month of continuing Brexit debate is an incredible achievement; it is a clear indicator that many more sellers are choosing the speed and certainty of auction to achieve their desired results.
Our northern sale rooms will be particularly busy. We have an impressive 86 lots entered into our newly launched Auction House North West sale at Bolton’s Macron Stadium, as well as 55 in our West Yorkshire auction and 101 in our latest Cumbria/North East catalogue. As a result, we have a wide range of pre-Christmas bargains being offered and are expecting well-attended auction rooms and enthusiastic bidding.”
Auction House is reporting cumulative sales in 2016 of 2,873 lots to the end of November, at a success rate of 77%, and raising a total of £387 million. Stuart Cooper said: “Supply has returned to normal levels over much of the country, although the South East remains a challenge. Auction prices have rebalanced since the referendum result, and buyers are now actively seeking opportunities. Demand for commercial lots has increased too, as more investors look to spread their risk over a wider mix of property types.”
The Group is also celebrating its third national industry award this year: Auction House Cumbria won the bronze trophy in the Best Auction Agency category at the prestigious Estate Agent of the Year Awards 2016. This follows hot on the heels of the group’s double-win in The Negotiator Awards last month, when it picked up Gold for Best Franchise for the second year running as well as Bronze for Best Residential Auctioneer—the fourth year in succession that Auction House has appeared in the top three places in both categories.
Stuart Cooper added: “This has turned out to be a spectacular year for Auction House. We have every reason to believe that our success will continue into the New Year, as more sellers urgently try to sell their properties in our January and February sales rather than see them suffer from the cold, damp months of winter.”
