Property auctions steam ahead in 2018
Are you thinking of putting your property for sale in auction this year instead of going down the conventional estate agency route? Perhaps you are going to visit a property auction to purchase your next home or buy-to-let investment?
Either way, you’re not alone, as research shows more and more people are turning to property auctions as a means of buying and selling property.
According to data from the Land Registry, residential transactions in England and Wales fell by almost 15% in 2017. In the last month of 2017, there was 70,943 residential sales registered by the Land Registry, down by 14.6% on 2016 when 996,650 residential transactions took place.
Whilst estate agency sales continue to struggle, research shows the auction market is continuing to thrive, with auction houses sales figures being at record highs.
The rising popularity of using auctions to sell and buy a home can be pinned on the multitude of benefits property auctions bring to both vendors and buyers.
When it comes to selling a property, without any fixed asking price, through competitive bidding, a property could achieve a higher price than expected, with the reserve price protecting the property from selling too cheaply.
As the buyer is committed to purchasing the property the moment the hammer falls, vendors in property auctions also benefit from an immediate sale, unlike in conventional residential sales when the buyer can pull out at any time. What’s more, gazundering cannot go on in an auction sale as the buyer is unable to reduce their offer once the sale has been agreed.
Those buying at auction can equally benefit from no fixed asking price and could potentially win the property at a lower price than they had bargained for. Like there is no issue of potential gazundering for the vendor, the buyer can’t face gazumping when buying at auction, as once the hammer falls, the vendor is legally required to sell the property to the buyer and cannot go elsewhere for a better deal.
With the numerous benefits of buying and selling property in auction, it is hardly surprising that the auction market continues to thrive.