Allsop raises £53m at February auction, beating last year’s result

• UK’s leading property auctioneer raises £53m on 152 lots
• Highest value lot (lot 122, a former pub with land in Owlswick, Buckinghamshire) received 166 bids and sold at £3.03m
• Most popular lot (lot 64, a freehold building in Greenford with a shop and a maisonette) secured 203 bids, selling at £363,000

Allsop’s first online residential auction of the year resulted in the sale of 152 lots, raising £53m. The auction saw a total of 3,936 online bids placed during the day, with 1,361 bidder registrations.

Richard Adamson, partner and auctioneer at Allsop, said: “Allsop’s first digital residential auction of the year has raised more money than our ballroom one this time last year, showing consistent buyer appetite has been largely unswayed by the change in format. We’ve noticed a slightly different dynamic, however, with more properties selling prior to and after the auction, which is a positive indication that the strong confidence in the residential sector experienced over the past 12 months has continued.”

Auction highlights included:

• The highest value lot of the day was lot 122, a former pub with adjacent land in Owlswick, Buckinghamshire, and planning permission to convert the existing building into a six-bedroom house and erect a further eight houses on site, sold at £3.03m. The property is located 2.2 miles away from Princes Risborough station, which provides direct services to London Marylebone
• The most popular lot of the day was lot 64, a freehold building in Greenford comprising a ground-level shop and a maisonette, which received 203 bids. The building which offers an opportunity to convert the shop into a residential property and create an extension into the rear yard, sold at £363,000
• Lot 144, a Grade II listed six-bedroom house in Coulsdon, Surrey, with an annexe, providing a further two bedrooms, reception room, kitchen, and bathroom, adjacent to Chipstead Golf Club, which sold prior to the auction well in excess of its guide price of £1.75m
• Lot 140, a leasehold flat above commercial premises with on opportunity to add a second floor and create four flats in South Harrow sold at £376,000, while lot 151, a freehold building with a previously granted planning permission to create four self-contained flats sold at £1.1m, showing a strong appetite for properties with value-add potential

Adamson also commented: “The Stamp Duty tax relief has contributed to sustained levels of activity, but the main driver has been investors’ positive perception of residential property: it remains a safe haven and often offers value-add opportunities, which are especially appealing at a time of low interest rates and volatility in most other investment markets.”

Allsop’s next residential auction will be held online on 31 March 2021.