Online Auction Index

Introducing our new Online Auction Index - a quarterly focus on the UK residential Modern Method of Auction market and a first of its kind for the UK property market.

Download the full index

JAMIE COOKE

Co-founder

JAMIE COOKE

Co-founder

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Welcome to our Q1 Online Auction Index

Our Online Auction Index is a first of its kind for the UK property market, and we’re launching this at a time when the Modern Method of Auction (MMoA) market has never been more active.

Each quarter the Index will evaluate the online auction market and set out predictions for the quarter ahead. It’ll also look at the great results auction is getting for Estate Agents and vendors, review performance and growth across the regions and explore consumer trends. It will be full of useful data to help agents keep their finger on the pulse of this growing market and support them in winning new instructions, by showing the success that vendors can enjoy with auction.

We hope you enjoy this first edition which evaluates January to March 2023.

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Number of Properties Sold

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Fees Paid to Partner Agents

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Worth of Property Sold

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Increase in Sales Compared to Q1 2022

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Property Viewings

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Bids Placed

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Completions

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Increase in Fees Paid to Partner Agents Compared to Q1 2022

Q1 at Auction Overview

With Private Treaty timescales continuing to slow down and cause frustrations for everyone involved in the moving process, consumers are increasingly looking for a different way to buy and sell, and auction is offering them a compelling alternative. Q1 has been our highest selling quarter to date, with property sales up by 56%, Capital Value raised up by 48% and fees paid to our Partner Agents also up by 48%.

Download the full index

Q1 at Auction Overview

With Private Treaty timescales continuing to slow down and cause frustrations for everyone involved in the moving process, consumers are increasingly looking for a different way to buy and sell, and auction is offering them a compelling alternative. Q1 has been our highest selling quarter to date, with property sales up by 56%, Capital Value raised up by 48% and fees paid to our Partner Agents also up by 48%.

Download the full index
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Regional Success

  • All
  • North West
  • South
  • North East
  • South East
  • Midlands
  • South West
  • Wales
Most Bids on a Property
153 Bids on Property
White Lund Road, Morecambe, Lancashire
Entwistle Green Estate Agents
• End-terraced house
• 4 viewings
• Starting bid £190,000
• Final sale price £260,000
Highest Sale Price
Sold for £960,000
Manor Road, Beckenham, London
Charles Eden Estate Agents
• Semi-detached
• 6 viewings
• 1 bid
Most over Guide Price
£191,500 over Starting Bid
Highfield Road, Idle, Bradford, West Yorkshire
Robert Watts Estate Agents, Highfield
• Detached Commercial Building
• 53 viewings
• 123 bid
• Final sale price £311,500
Highest Sale Price
Sold for £955,000
Cedar Close, Dorking
Cubitt & West, Dorking
• Detached Chalet Bungalow
• 3 bedrooms
• 26 viewings
Most Bids on a Property
124 Bids on Property
Mill Lane, Stratford-upon-avon, Warwickshire
Ashley Would Powered by eXp
• 2 bed Flat
• 17 viewings
• Starting bid £375,000
• Final sale price £557,500
Most Viewings on a Property
55 Viewings & 2,976 Online Views
Glenfield Avenue, Southampton, Hampshire
Morris Dibben Estate Agents, Bitterne
• 3 bedroom Semi-Detached Property
• Starting bid £200,000
• 45 bids placed
• Final sale price £230,500
Most over Guide Price
£87,500 over Starting Bid
Carreg Heilin Lane, Dyserth, Rhyl, Clwyd
Peter Large Estate Agents, Prestatyn
• 2 bedroom Cottage
• 21 Viewings
• Starting bid £140,000
• 113 bids placed
• Final sale price £227,500

"We’ve had a brilliant start to the year with auction. Our auction sale rate typically sits between 5-10% but has risen to 10-15% over the quarter, so we’re really pleased with that. Having the auction service has been a real benefit while the market has been tight, helping to push through sales and with that comes 7-day payment of our fees which is an added bonus. iamproperty does a lot of the work, which takes the pressure off our team while there’s lots to do. It’s a great partnership."

Matthew Hill, Sales Director at DB Roberts

“The Modern Method of Auction (MMoA) has performed really well for us this quarter. The market has been tough since the interest rate rises which we’re still seeing now, and MMoA has been an asset. We’ve seen more motivation from vendors to sell via MMoA, who’ve understood that they needed speed and security if they didn’t want to take any chances with timescales. There’s been some great results, in particular with two properties in Leeds and Harrogate that received over 100 bids."

Brad Ogden, Head of Sales at Linley and Simpson

“This quarter has been a very strong one. The end of 2022 was a disaster for the property market, and we saw sales slowdown drastically, so auction has been a godsend because of the speed and security. We offer auction as part of our general pitch to clients and 11% of our sales now go through auction. Because of the market conditions it’s a more viable option than ever and our clients like to have the option there – people who are only being offered Private Treaty are missing out.”

Jonathan Moult, Business Development Manager at Merryweathers Agents

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Consumer Viewpoint

The last 12 months have been transformational when it comes to consumer demand for auction. We’ve seen record-breaking numbers across the board, from online bids to properties sold, but it’s not just recent market conditions driving the demand, consumers have been ready for change for the better for a while.

Google Trends data shows us that consumer awareness and interest in auction both continue to rise. There’s been a sharp increase in consumer search for auction properties over the last three years, with a rise of 135% when comparing January 2020 to January 2023. Search data for ‘buying a house at auction’ has also more than doubled during the same period, and consumer searches for information around ‘selling a house at auction’ are up by 165%*.

Consumers are looking for agents who offer auction as they’re more open to and understanding of it as an alternative method of buying and selling than ever before.

Download the full index

Consumer Viewpoint

The last 12 months have been transformational when it comes to consumer demand for auction. We’ve seen record-breaking numbers across the board, from online bids to properties sold, but it’s not just recent market conditions driving the demand, consumers have been ready for change for the better for a while.

Google Trends data shows us that consumer awareness and interest in auction both continue to rise. There’s been a sharp increase in consumer search for auction properties over the last three years, with a rise of 135% when comparing January 2020 to January 2023. Search data for ‘buying a house at auction’ has also more than doubled during the same period, and consumer searches for information around ‘selling a house at auction’ are up by 165%*.

Consumers are looking for agents who offer auction as they’re more open to and understanding of it as an alternative method of buying and selling than ever before.

Download the full index

Jamie’s predictions for Q1

An overview of trends Jamie expects to see in the auction market over the next quarter.

Continued Growth

Continued growth in sales has to be top of the list. The auction market is continuing to grow, as more vendors are looking for a different way to move and auction is ticking a lot of boxes with the speed and security it offers. Especially when compared with Private Treaty, which unfortunately in many cases is taking longer and creating more risk of sales falling through.

Throughout 2022 our monthly sales steadily increased and the data in this Index shows that continuing, which we anticipate to carry on into the next quarter across all regions.

More owner occupancy sales

I also expect to see the percentage of properties sold for owner occupancy take a bigger majority of our total sales, as more vendors continue to turn to auction over Private Treaty. It already had the majority this quarter, increasing slightly compared with this time last year.

Taking into consideration that new vendors entering the market are now more likely to be ‘traditional’ home sellers, this will keep growing.

The need for differentiation

Competitiveness to win new instructions remains high, as market conditions continue to be challenging. Mortgage rates are still high, limiting the number of ready buyers, and conveyancing timeframes are still not as fast as consumers would like, slowing transactions. In our recent survey, 50% of consumers said the conveyancing process taking too long was their top frustration when selling a property.

Auction is a viable method of sale in any type of market but can really add strength to an Estate Agency in the current market landscape because of its speed and security. Having options when it comes to method of sale can help agents to secure their pipeline, as well as win more instructions by standing out as the best option to a client by being able to offer them a choice which meets their personal circumstances.

Increase in consumer awareness

Consumers’ awareness and understanding of auction has come a long way. With more agents than ever now offering auction as part of their general pitch, and more people experiencing auction transactions, this will only continue. We’re also committed to driving up awareness and have launched a social media-led direct-to-consumer campaign.

With all of this in mind, I’d expect to see direct search for auction properties and information about selling at auction increase.

Download the Auction Index

Download the Auction Index

Our Online Auction Index is a first of its kind for the UK, released at a time when the Modern Method of Auction market has never been more active.

View full index
Download the Auction Index

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