Could online property auctions be the way forward?
Could online property auctions with remote bidding be the way forward? If Auction House London’s recent successes are anything to go by, then yes, they could!
September’s property auction hosted by the irrefutably charismatic auctioneer Andrew Binstock – director and co-founder of Auction House London – was an afternoon of raw and authentic entertainment.
Even those with no intention to bid on property and who were attending the remote auction house to merely become acquainted with the practices and procedures of a property auction, or were just being nosey, couldn’t help but get drawn into the nail biting bidding war drama.
Having taken place in a central London location for years, Auction House London’s regular property auctions were – pre-Covid-19 – solely for those with serious reasons to be there, i.e. they were wanting to bid on property. If not bidding on property themselves, the ‘physical’ auction house in London of yesteryear, was, at the very least, confined to those who lived in London or its vicinity and had an interest in property auctions.
By contrast, remote auctions enable anyone from anywhere watch the drama of the auction house from the luxury of their living room, thereby opening property auctions up to a much wider audience without any geographical constraints.
From the comfort of their own living room, auction attendees can ‘dip in and out’ of the afternoon’s proceedings – a far cry from creeping out of a physical auction room while trying not to make a noise and be noticed and with no intention of returning.
The success of Auction House London’s online property auctions implemented because of Covid-19 social distancing restrictions, makes it difficult to refute that online auctions could, in fact, be the way forward.
September’s auction was an entrancing-to-watch success story. The crazed and lengthy bidding wars as property owner-wannabees battled it out to be the highest bidder, raised a total of £21,605,350 and had an 83% sale rate. This was the third highest result ever for Auction House London.
Of course, when we talk of the frenzied buying of property of late, we can’t ignore the current stamp duty holiday and its impact on the property market in general.
In a bid to get the property market going in the wake of the pandemic, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a ‘stamp duty holiday’ running until March 31, 2021. In short, the legislature means nine out of ten transactions will no longer be subject to stamp duty and the average stamp duty bill will fall by £4,500.
With no (or significantly less) stamp duty to pay and being able to bid less conspicuously from the luxury of their living room, it’s hardly surprising Auction House London’s online property auctions are firing on all cylinders.
If you’re interested in buying or selling property at auction, get in touch with the Auction House London team who will be more than happy to answer any queries you have.