Property Auction Insights
June 2023
With the impending summer heat waves due to hit the UK through June, we wanted to see where the hottest spots are across the country for property auctions. We have found counties which have seen a huge spike in the number of properties going through auction over the past five years, as well as those bucking the trend and generating larger increases in average sale values too. So, let us look at what is happening directly in your county or region, find out where the biggest growth areas are, where the market may be shrinking, and if auctions are a pre-cursor to what is happening in the rest of the market.
Focus On: Auction Heat Maps
Every month we release our newsletter which includes the figures and statistics on a regional level, but we know that counties within each region can buck the trend and stand out from the average. So, for the first time, you have the ability to really see what is going on in the market in your local area. Using data from the start of Q2 2018 to the end of Q1 2023, you can see how the auctions market responded to the wider and ongoing economic conditions, as well as the rebound post covid too.
The data we have used has allowed us to form two heat maps, the first showing the number of sales and their changes, whilst the second will show the average sale price. This is then segmented into property types (Residential, Commercial, Mixed Use, and All Properties) and allows you to review the sector most pertinent to you. We have included some headline figures in each sector to help kick start your interactive journey. We hope you find these as interesting as we do.
We reviewed
105,156 Sales
from
351 Auctioneers
in
6,600 Auctions
Sold Properties
This map shows properties sold at auction where a final sale price has been disclosed to EIG. Click into a region of the map to zoom in to see more information at regional/county level. Use the slider to see how the heat map changes each year.
13,078
9,848
1,215
912
Most Lots Sold over 5 years
Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire
Greater London
195
82
31
22
Least Lots Sold over 5 years
Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire
108%
182%
157%
150%
Largest Percentage Change
North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire
Northamptonshire
Worcestershire
-72%
-76%
-75%
-92%
Smallest Percentage Change
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Herefordshire
Herefordshire
National
Residential
| Year | Number of Lots | Percentage change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-2019 | 13,146 | 6.1% | |
| 2019-2020 | 14,028 | 6.7% | |
| 2020-2021 | 12,909 | -7.9% | |
| 2021-2022 | 14,092 | 9.2% | |
| 2022-2023 | 15,699 | 11% |
General content about clicking into a county
Residential -
National
Commercial
| Year | Number of Lots | Percentage change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-2019 | 2,355 | -4.7% | |
| 2019-2020 | 2,061 | -12% | |
| 2020-2021 | 1,637 | -21% | |
| 2021-2022 | 2,146 | 31% | |
| 2022-2023 | 2,176 | 1.4% |
General content about clicking into a county
Commercial -
National
Mixed use
| Year | Number of Lots | Percentage change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-2019 | 1,768 | -3.3% | |
| 2019-2020 | 1,485 | -16% | |
| 2020-2021 | 1,231 | -17% | |
| 2021-2022 | 1,493 | 21% | |
| 2022-2023 | 1,482 | -0.7% |
General content about clicking into a county
Mixed use -
National
All lots
| Year | Number of Lots | Percentage change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-2019 | 20,572 | -5.9% | |
| 2019-2020 | 20,995 | 2% | |
| 2020-2021 | 18,973 | -9.6% | |
| 2021-2022 | 21,314 | 12% | |
| 2022-2023 | 23,302 | 9.3% |
General content about clicking into a county
All lots -
Move the slider to see the changes over time
Key to percentage difference
Colour is defined by the percentage change in each area, and is not indicative as to region borders.
Average Sale Price
This map shows the average sale price of properties sold at auction where a final sale price has been disclosed to EIG. Click into a region of the map to zoom in to see more information at regional/county level. Use the slider to see how the heat map changes each year.
£421,294
£441,228
£791,009
£840,178
Largest Average Sale Price over 5 years
Greater London
Greater London
Greater London
Greater London
£58,849
£46,034
£141,403
£117,785
Smallest Average Sale Price over 5 years
County Durham
County Durham
Northern Ireland
County Durham
58%
53%
156%
243%
Largest Percentage Change
Shropshire
Scotland
Tyne & Wear
West Yorkshire
-33%
-13%
-56%
-60%
Smallest Percentage Change
Buckinghamshire
East Yorkshire
Oxfordshire
Northumberland
National
Residential
| Year | Average sale price | Percentage change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-2019 | £156,636 | 3% | |
| 2019-2020 | £152,480 | -2.7% | |
| 2020-2021 | £178,605 | 17% | |
| 2021-2022 | £194,292 | 8.8% | |
| 2022-2023 | £190,871 | -1.8% |
General content about clicking into a county
Residential -
National
Commercial
| Year | Average sale price | Percentage change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-2019 | £332,491 | 18% | |
| 2019-2020 | £333,658 | 0.4% | |
| 2020-2021 | £380,791 | 14% | |
| 2021-2022 | £400,578 | 5.2% | |
| 2022-2023 | £397,111 | -1% |
General content about clicking into a county
Commercial -
National
Mixed use
| Year | Average sale price | Percentage change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-2019 | £360,966 | 32% | |
| 2019-2020 | £313,139 | -13% | |
| 2020-2021 | £401,460 | 28% | |
| 2021-2022 | £400,724 | -0.2% | |
| 2022-2023 | £418,499 | 4.4% |
General content about clicking into a county
Mixed use -
National
All lots
| Year | Average sale price | Percentage change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-2019 | £172,524 | 11% | |
| 2019-2020 | £161,010 | -6.7% | |
| 2020-2021 | £182,777 | 14% | |
| 2021-2022 | £199,879 | 9.4% | |
| 2022-2023 | £194,511 | -2.7% |
General content about clicking into a county
All lots -
Move the slider to see the changes over time
Key to percentage difference
Colour is defined by the percentage change in each area, and is not indicative as to region borders.
Review
Overall, 81% of the country saw growth in the number of lots sold in 2022 and 2023 compared to 2018 to 2019, of which 42% saw increases of over 30%. This shows that despite economic adversities and a global pandemic, demand for auctions remained strong. Residential in particular held its own for the volume of sales, while we have witnessed a fall in the average sale price from Q4 2022. Our latest newsletter has indicated that the residential market is now dropping back in terms of lots sold, so we will be keeping a close eye on that. The commercial and mixed-use market both started to show stagnation for lots offered and sale price, but on the whole have been holding steady.
For residential properties, we saw three counties experience over 100% growth in the same comparative periods. These were North Lincolnshire (182%), Oxfordshire (118%) and Dorset (110%). Northern Ireland has been showing a decline in stock since covid. The North East is known to be a strong region however a decrease was seen in what is normally a strong region for auction sales with Northumberland seeing a shrink back of 49% over the past 5 years, while neighbouring County Durham remained strong with a 5% growth. Despite this, Northumberland did see a 32% growth in average sales rates, one of the highest increases seen nationally. East Yorkshire and Bedfordshire were the only counties to experience a higher decrease in sales values, of 13% and 12% respectively.
Commercial growth in the Greater London area grew by 74% during these periods, only second to the growth seen in Northamptonshire (157%). 64% of counties saw a decrease in the number of commercial lots selling at auction, notably Lancashire saw a decrease of 29% in the past 5 years, however in turn they did see a 38% increase in average sales value. West Yorkshire also saw a slight decrease in the number of sales (16%) and an upturn of value (47%).
Mixed Use faired slightly better than pure commercial lots did, with 40% of the counties maintaining previous levels or seeing growth compared to 5 years ago. The West Midlands saw a 14% growth rate, while Greater London experienced 8% growth. Again, Lancashire saw a decrease in sales, dropping by 43%. Seven counties demonstrated average sales value growth exceeding 100%, which were West Yorkshire (243%), North Lincolnshire (235%), Northamptonshire (170%), East Yorkshire (148%), Oxfordshire (132%) Tyne & Wear (103%) and Shropshire (102%).
Regional Data
Every quarter we will be including regional data from the past five years, including the number of lots sold and the average sale price. This allows you to track what is happening across the country, to spot trends, and see how changes in the wider market may be affecting auctions.
London
South East Home Counties
South West
Yorkshire & The Humber
North West
North East
West Midlands
East Midlands
East Anglia
Scotland
Wales
North West Home Counties
Northern Ireland
Regional Data Analysis
The data in these charts consist of all auction sales on a quarterly basis, including individual single lot sales, as well as conditional sales.
Interestingly, the effect of Covid on the auctions market during 2020 can clearly be identified in each region in terms of the drop in lots sold during Q2. Also, nearly all regions saw a decrease in average sales value during Q4 2022, due to the change in economic conditions affecting the housing market.
Closing Summary
Did your area perform as you expected? Or were you surprised by the numbers you saw? When we began this edition, we made assumptions as to what we may find, and while in most cases we were correct, there were several counties that certainly outperformed our own expectations. We would love to hear your thoughts and anything you found interesting, so please either contact us directly, or tag us on any posts on social media!
One final point, when the data sets are smaller, anomalies can stand out further than normal. For example, West Sussex average sale values for Mixed Use was dramatically increased for 2021-22 due to a multi-million-pound sale occurring. So, it is important to note that while certain numbers may indeed look impressive, a critical eye must be used at all times when reviewing this data.
If there are any topics you would like us to focus on in future releases, or you have any feedback or thoughts you would like to share, please contact us on insights@eigroup.co.uk.
David Leary
PS. Our next edition will be released in September 2023, so if you are not already on our newsletter mailing list, sign up today!
Disclaimer: The figures in this newsletter are based on sales data provided to us by the auctioneers.