This week we unearth some of the best property deals secured over the past few days at property auctions in London, Cumbria and Ipswich.
London
Allsop completed its final residential auction sale before the summer recess last week, raising almost £50m from the sale of 189 lots. This brings the firm's residential sales total for the year to £243m, with an average success rate of 86%.
The sale was dominated by London and the South East with over half of all lots offered located in these areas. The average value of lots sold within the M25 was £452,000, contrasting with £124,000 elsewhere.
Speaking after the sale, auctioneer Gary Murphy, said, "We were pleased with the overall result. However, we are definitely noticing an easing in demand, particularly for lots in excess £1m. As always, pricing is critical and aspirational reserves can present challenges. That said, 10 lots were sold over £1m, the largest being a former office building on 1.7 acres in Slough with planning consent for 51 dwellings, which fetched £3.4m."
Income producing lots fared well with all regulated tenancy investments offered selling at an average yield of 3.9%. Assured shorthold tenancies averaged 7.2% and assured tenancies 7.74%.
Highlights included:
- Lot 1: A two-bedroom purpose-built flat on ChaltonStrett in Marylebone, NW1, was sold for £470,000, which is around £100,000 below what other comparable homes in the area are selling for via private treaty.
- Lot 73: A freehold former pub on Milson Road in Kensington, W14, which has planning permission for three two-bedroom flats sold for £1.75, against a guide price of £1.5m.
Cumbria
There were lots of good property deals available at last week's auction at Carlisle Racecourse, hosted by Auction House Cumbria, where 24 of the 47 lots offered were sold - a 73% sales success - raising close to £2.7m.
Highlights included:
- Lot 5: A self-contained one-bedroom ground floor flat on a new 99 year lease, situated on Kirkby Street in Maryort, a popular part of Cumbria, was the cheapest lot to be sold at just £14,000.
- Lot 37: The most expensive property to be soldon the day of the auction was an unmodernsied four-bedroom detached farmhouse which came together with a stone barn, a range of out buildings and eight acres of land in a truly rural setting within the Lake District National Park. Whilst the property is in need of modernisation, it offers tremendous development opportunity.
Ipswich
Goldings held their third Ipswich property auction of 2014 last week at Wherstead Park, where 12 of the 14 lots offered were sold - 86% sales success - raising £1.8m.
Highlights include:
- Lot 1: An unmodernised two-bedroom ground floor maisonette in Chessington Gardens on Springfield Lane, Ipswich, IP1, which offers great potential to add value through refurbishment work was sold for £81,500. Similar properties in the local area are selling for in excess of £100,000.
- Lot 13: The Old House, a 400 year old cottage, located on Half Moon Lane in Grundisburgh, was offered at a guide price of £125,000 to £150,000 and eventually sold for £162,000. The property offers potential for renovation or redevelopment. It is estimated that the house would command a resale value of close to £400,000 in good condition.