Industry News

EIG Newsletter May 2018 - Essential Auction News

Publish Date: 15 May 2018

By Beth Fox

Welcome to the May Newsletter

Essential Auction News

Welcome to the May newsletter that looks back at auction activity in April and preceding periods. After an encouraging start to 2018, it appears that the market has just cooled slightly, as the monthly figures below show falls across every measurable metric.

Lots offered and lots sold were both down by 12% and 17% respectively, whilst the total raised fell £23M to £192M (-11%). Whether it's just seasonal variance, or increasing hesitation amongst buyers due to speculation around interest rate rises or the wider economic climate, one hopes that the falls are just an anomaly and do not become a trend.

Overall Statistics - May 2018

Auctions Held in the UK 109
Total Lots Offered 1,951
Total Lots Sold 1,373
Percent Sold 70.4%
Total Realised £191,569,177

National Auction Analysis

Notwithstanding the double-digit falls seen last month, the residential market has enjoyed relatively steady growth over the last 6-12 months, as illustrated by the 3% gains shown in lots offered, lots sold and amount raised in the rolling yearly figures.

In contrast, the commercial market has seen volumes reduce over the last 12 months; lots offered has decreased by 8% to 5,413 lots and lots sold by 9% to 4,207 lots. April's results continued that trend, although it should be noted that the sharp falls can be wholly attributed to variations seen in the catalogues of residential, regional auction houses, as none of the major commercial auctioneers held an auction last month.

A word from the editor:

As ever I would welcome any comments or feedback you may have regarding the newsletter or indeed the wider market in general.

Kind regards,

David Sandeman