Auctioneers brought the hammer down on a bumper first round of auctions for a flying start to 2015 with more than £16m worth of sales.
Clive Emson Land and Property Auctioneers recorded an impressive 82% successful sales rate over four auction days from Cornwall to Kent.
The total of £16,344,000 raised from the February catalogue resulted in £71,320 commission paid to joint agents.
It follows hot on the heels of a milestone 2014 when then family-run company achieved £125m in sales over the course of its 25th anniversary year.
Managing director James Emson said: “The success of our first auction days of 2015 marked a tremendous start to the year.
“Our impressive 82% sales rate for February comes after our superb 87.1% overall success rate for 2014 as we continue to deliver strong returns for our clients and see increasingly busy auction rooms.
“With interest rates still low and potentially dropping further, land and property still offer some of the highest returns on capital investment.”
James added: “We’re looking forward to offering these opportunities to more clients as we expand to a fifth auction day in March to cover the Essex and North and East London area.”
Highlights of the first auctions of 2015 included a former blacksmith’s forge in the New Forest at Brockenhurst, which fetched £132,000 – £32,000 above estimate – as well as a purpose-built office block in Rochester. Stirling House sold for £610,000 – almost £100,000 more than the guide price.
In the Sussex and Surrey auction, a bidding war broke out for the freehold possession of a mixed use property in Croft Road, Crowborough, with the hammer coming down on a bid of £362,000, which was £82,000 above estimate.
At the West Country auction, lots to spark the interest of buyers included flats in Dawlish which smashed their guide price to sell for £210,000 and the former Kilmington Baptist Church in East Devon which sold for £106,000.
The second round of Clive Emson Auctioneers’ eight regional auctions in 2015 takes place in the week commencing Monday March 23.
The first auction for Essex and North and East London on Tuesday March 24 at the Channels Golf Club in Chelmsford.
