Introducing our 1st August auction sale
Welcome to the 6th Auction of 2023, with our usual late July sale being held on 1st August so we can ensure continuity for our buyers wanting to bid in a live environment at our established venue at The Grand Connaught Rooms. Whilst many others have tried, we remain the only national auctioneer that continues to consistently offer a venue based (and in my opinion “proper”) auction with bidders having the choice of attending the sale on the day, bidding remotely via the internet or telephone or providing us with a proxy bid.
If you are attending the sale, which we recommend to stand the best chance of buying, you just need to bring your ID documents on the day in order to register. If bidding remotely you’ll need to complete your online registration, ID verification and pay a security deposit in advance. The absolute deadline for registration is 2:30pm Monday 31st July but, don’t leave it too late. The law requires that we must carry out anti-money laundering identification checks. We utilise one of the very best platforms available to do this but, if you leave your registration to the last minute there is a chance that the checks won’t come back to us verified in time and if we can’t verify your ID, the law says we can’t then accept your bid! So, if you are leaving your bidding to chance of your internet connection, please make sure you start the registration process early, but better still – come to the sale in person, the only way you can properly experience an auction.
Our experience shows that the market remains very fluid and active. This is demonstrated by our sales activity in the first half of this year where the lot numbers we have offered are up on the same period as last year by 30% to over 1,530 excluding this sale and, capital value of our sales is now £160 Million, over £21 Million more than the first half of 2022.
Yes the mortgage market is rather turbulent at the moment but, our sellers recognise this and are pricing their stock accordingly. In many respects, now is an ideal time to buy as whenever there is a bit of uncertainty, a lot of would be buyers sit on the fence so perhaps less competition for the lot you want to buy and maybe, a real chance to secure it at a price lower than you may expect! Also, when financial markets settle, there is always a surge of activity, all those currently sat on the fence rush to re-engage and the inevitable happens – more people chase lots, more completion in the auction room and prices start to creep up again!
Whatever your purpose of buying, make sure you do your homework. When the hammer falls on your bid you have exchanged contracts and are bound by the terms of that contract. I am sure if you are reading this intro you are a prudent buyer, will do all your homework, seek all appropriate professional advice and come to the auction properly equipped to bid. You would however be surprised by the amount of people that bid “blind” and think after the event, perhaps with a bit of buyers remorse, that they can somehow extricate themselves from their contracted obligations - they cannot!
So, with the correct due diligence, come to the auction as a prudent and informed buyer and there’s every chance you can bag yourself a bargain!
If you are away on holidays during the auction don’t worry, you can still bid and buy. You can bid over the phone, internet or send us a proxy bid and we’ll do everything for you so you can sit back, enjoy the beach and still be buying!
We are here to help with all your enquiries in the lead up to the auction, we look forward to meeting you at The Grand Connaught Rooms on Tuesday 1st August and wish you the best of luck with your bidding.
