Subscribe Feed (RSS)Auction Success Rates Spell Good News For London Property
August 29th, 2008 by Karelia | No Comments | Filed in House Prices, London House Prices, Property Market NewsLondon Property Finder
Barnard Marcus had a good auction last week with sales reaching 82pts which is about where sales have been for some years – excluding the 2nd quarter of this year. I.e. auction houses generally sell between 75pts and 85pts of their stock during the good times.
London property was in short supply but in general values also held their own: only four houses didn’t sell and of those the margin betwen final offer and reserve was between £5K and 25K.
12 Clitterhouse Road sold for £235K. £20,000 more than number 131 sold for in May of this year but £75K less than 111 and 27 which sold for £310 a piece in April and May respectively. We suspect numbers 12 and 131 needed a little work, but even if they didn’t the auction price reflects a 24pts saving, which is roughly where you would expect to see the average auction property.
14 Preston Waye in Harrow sold for £400K, £20K over the reserve price but offering a 20pts discount versus number 9 which sold for £494,950 in March of last year. We didn’t view either, so number 9 could be a palace in comparison, in which case this is even better news.
Why? Because the auction market is pretty indicative of the market as a whole and if people are buying at 20pts off ‘market value’ at auction, then clearly there is hope for the homeowners in general. In a good market, it makes sense for property at auction to be sold for 20-30pts below the neighbouring house sold through an estate agent. It’s generally a distress sale. In a slow market – it is fabulous news. It means prices are holding up in general because of the supply problem we have in London in particular. The reason the housing market is a mess is because no-one wants to lend much to first time buyers or anyone else for that matter. And when the credit crunch eases, the buyers market will disappear, because more people want to have property in London than there are properties to go around. To find a house quickly now before it is too late just contact this London Property Finder.
