Auction Homes a Third Cheaper Than the Average Property

Homes under the hammer are selling for around a third less than the price of an average property in the UK (2019). 

Even though the number of auctions hit rock bottom in July 2019 and money collected from sales fell 6%, the average property sold at auction was priced at an average of £150,100. 

The official UK property data set the average price of a home in June at £230,292. The average home auction price for Scotland was £117,692, while in Wales, the figure was £114,592, and Northern Ireland posted £78,431. 

Splitting out residential auction data for July posted by market monitor EIG, the number of lots offered was 4% down a year ago at 2,699. 

Lots sold also dropped 5.7% to 1,934, with 72% of properties selling - a decrease of 1.6%. Total money raised at auction was down 5.9% to £290 million. 

Only 107 auctions were held across the UK in July 2019 - 21 fewer than July 2018 and 72 down on the previous lows of 189 recorded in 2008 and 2011.

 Data for the year to July 31, 2019, showed lots offered were down 7.3% to 25,398, with 18,714 selling - 9% fewer. 

Auction sales were down 13.4% to £2.7 billion from £3.1 billion a year earlier.

“With fewer auctions held it is perhaps no surprise to see lots offered and sold down on last year, both by 7% to 3,306 and 2,396 lots respectively. The total amount raised fell by 6% to £445.5 million - just over £27 million in monetary terms,” said EIG’s David Sandeman. 

“One positive to take from the results is that the sale rate has remained broadly steady in the low-to-mid 70s throughout the past year, demonstrating that competitively priced properties continue to attract buyers.”