According to new research from Moverly, a digital property pack provider, property auction sales have seen an 11.3% rise as homeowners increasingly look to auctions amidst a cooling housing market.
Historically, property auctions have been the realm of professional property players or adventurous buyers, but the advent of online auctions has opened the door for everyday buyers and sellers to participate.
Moverly’s research involved an analysis of historic data related to the property auction market, specifically the number of homes sold at auction, the average auction property price, and the total value of properties sold. The intent was to examine if the cooling housing market has heightened interest in auction sales.
The results indicated that the number of properties coming to auction in the UK has risen by 11.3% over the past year, increasing from 13,854 lots in 2021/22 to 15,424 in 2022/23.
Despite a slight dip of -1.8% in the average auction property price, dropping to £190,871, a remarkable £2.9 billion worth of residential property was sold at auction in 2022/23.
In terms of regional figures for 2022/23, the North West saw the most properties sold at auction (2,839), followed by Yorkshire & Humber (2,107). However, the most significant annual growth in auction properties was recorded in Scotland (53.8%), followed by the South West (26.4%).
Although auction prices have cooled in many UK regions over the past year, some areas have still seen prices increase, notably Scotland (20.5%), Yorkshire & Humber (2.4%), the West Midlands (1%), and the North East (0.9%).
Regarding the total value of auction sales over the past year, London took the top spot, with homes selling for a total of £794.5m. South East sales totalled £554.6m, while sales in the North West amounted to £308.9m.
Ed Molyneux, Moverly co-founder, said: “In this cooling market, many sellers find it challenging to secure good buyers. Instead of waiting while property values continue to fluctuate, more and more are heading to the auction room, accepting a marginal hit on the sale price for a swift and guaranteed transaction.”
Molyneux further highlighted that despite the cooling market, house prices are still relatively high due to the recent market boom. This is leading more everyday buyers to auctions in the hopes of finding affordable bargains.
“Online auctions have also played a crucial role, democratising the property auction process and instilling confidence in regular homebuyers who previously found the auction environment intimidating,” Molyneux added.
