Auction march continues - record summer for UK's largest auctioneer

The strong performance of the auction market in recent months has been reinforced by the latest figures from iamsold, the UK's largest property auctioneer.

The firm has reported a record-breaking summer, selling 1,159 properties via the Modern Method of Auction over the last three months - an 18% rise on 2019.

During June, July and August, the firm raised over £162 million for property sellers, up by over a quarter compared to last summer.

The average sale price during this period was up 7% on last year and iamsold draws attention to two lots in particular - listed with Your Move and Burchell Edwards - which sold for £41,000 and £71,000 above reserve price respectively.

A large proportion of buyers in recent months have been owner-occupiers, according to the auctioneer. It says the quick and secure sales process offered by auction is appealing to vendors post-lockdown.

iamsold's managing director Jamie Cooke says there is a combination of factors responsible for the record summer performance.

"We are experiencing two seasons in one with vendors who felt uncertain about moving in spring taking action now, lifestyle changes as a direct impact of Covid-19 resulting in people needing to move, and the stamp duty holiday encouraging vendors to enter the market sooner rather than later."

He says the market's attention will now turn towards getting transactions completed in time for Christmas.

iamsold currently supports a network of over 2,500 estate agency branches nationwide.