As one of the UK's leading auction houses, with more than 20 years’ experience selling all types of property, Savills Auctions is ideally placed to achieve the best sale price regardless of the property’s condition.
Last year Savills Auctions brought the hammer down on over 1,100 properties across the UK, many of which were residential flats and houses which were in a state of disrepair or had been vacant for many months and in some cases years.
We understand the benefits that better utilising existing housing stock can bring which is why we are passionate about playing our part in enabling empty homes to be brought back into use up and down the country. Last year we helped sell over 700 residential homes, paving the way for them to be given a new lease of life for those who need them.
In our last auction of 2022 our auctions team sold a house in south London that was in a state of disrepair throughout and had been vacant for over two years to an owner occupier who is bringing it back to life. Guided at £750,000 the hammer fell at £852,000. Another sale saw a vacant house in Slough sold on behalf of a housing association to a local owner-occupier. Guided at £340,000, the lot was eventually sold for £615,000 after a lot of competition in the virtual auction room.
Homes that may struggle to sell through the traditional estate agent route are often snapped up quickly at auction as buyers expect that properties going under the hammer will need renovations. In Burnley, a vacant house in disrepair sold successfully at auction following several months sitting on the open market without success at an asking price of £80,000. Originally guided at £55,000 the property eventually sold just below the open market asking price, achieving £78,000. Meanwhile in Andover, a long-term vacant flat was on the open market for four months without success before being put up for auction and again achieving just £2000 below the open market asking price.
It is also possible for a successful sale to take place without viewings, as may happen if a property is in a complete state of disrepair. We recently conducted the auction sale of a long-term vacant flat in Essex which sold £40,000 over the guide price of £60,000 without viewings due to being in a dangerous condition internally.
As auctions are conducted in a day, buyers and owners can purchase or sell quickly which is a key draw. The process also rules out any chance of counter offers, gazumping or long chains holding up the process.
Activity in the auction room remains robust despite a challenging year and ongoing economic headwinds. We have tens of thousands of bidders registering with us each year and continue to achieve excellent sold prices on well-priced lots.
For more information, or to discuss your requirements with the team at Savills Auctions, contact Steven Morish on: steven.morish@savills.com / 07816 087825
To view Savills Auction’s latest auction catalogue, click here