Sellers head to auction houses to combat cooling market - claim

Increasing numbers of sellers are turning to auction rooms to combat the cooling housing market conditions, research suggests.

Upfront information provider Moverly analysed historic data on the property auction market, looking at the number of homes sold at auction, the average price of an auction property and the total value of property sold.

The research shows that the number of properties coming to auction in the UK has increased by 11.3% in the past year, rising from 13,854 lots in 2021/22 to 15,424 in 2022/23. 

While the average price of an auction property has declined by 1.8% year-on-year to £190,871, there was still £2.9bn worth of residential property sold at auction in 2022/23. 

According to 2022/23 figures, the North West is the most popular region for homes going under the hammer, followed by Yorkshire & Humber. 

But the biggest annual increase in the number of auction properties has been recorded in Scotland, up 53.8%, followed by the South West with a 26.4% increase. 

While auction prices have cooled across the majority of regions in the last year, some parts of the UK have still seen prices rise, including Scotland, Yorkshire & Humber, the West Midlands and the North East of England, according to the research.

Meanwhile, London homes top the table for sales values with a total of £794.5m. 

South East sales totalled £554.6m, while homes under the hammer in the North West have a combined value of £308.9m. 

Moverly co-founder Ed Molyneux, said: “In cooling market conditions, many sellers are struggling to find and secure good buyers.

“Rather than playing the waiting game while property values continue to stutter, an increasing number are heading to the auction room, accepting the marginal hit on the sale price in return for a quick and certain transaction. 

“At the same time, while UK house prices are indeed cooling, they’re still relatively high after the past few years of incredible market boom. 

“We’re also seeing a good number of everyday buyers heading to auction, too, aware that they might be able to scoop up an affordable bargain at an expensive time.”

He said online auctions shouldn’t be ignored, adding: “They have somewhat democratised the property auction process enabling normal homebuyers to feel more confident in what was, for a long time, a challenging and intimidating environment for inexperienced auction-goers.”