Repos add to Allsop success

With one more two-day sale to come next month, Allsop has raised a total of £96.7m over four days since 30 October.

An influx of investors seeking repossessions meant the auction house has sold 929 lots and achieved a 91% overall success rate.

In the second sale, last week, Allsop sold 94% of its 401 lots, 80% of which sold above their reserve price, raising just under £37m.

Day three, which was held in the Café Royal last Wednesday, sold 95% of the catalogue, raising £20.72m.

The lots were mainly in the south-east and auctioneer Gary Murphy said they had attracted more amateur private buyers – often parents investing on behalf of their children for their time at university.

On the final day, which was held at the Cumberland Hotel in London last Thursday, £16.13m was raised from sales in the north of England.

Investors snapped up 93% of the lots. Several bids came in from local buyers by phone or proxy.

The high sale rate was attributed to the catalogue comprising 80% repossessions sourced from several lenders.

‘Quite a few of the professional buyers were saying that they felt that it was difficult to compete against the private buyers at the auction,’ said Murphy.

‘One interesting comment made by a professional buyer was that he felt we were selling in a rising market, in the sense that they had come to bid for a flat in a block and ended up paying more for it than they had a month earlier for a similar flat in the same block.

‘That indicates to us that the market has, for the time being, reached a bit of a plateau and shown some signs of recovery.’

Allsop’s final residential auction of the year will be held on 15 and 17 December in central London.