The two major commercial auction houses raised 12% more over the past two months than in the same period last year – but suffered a year-on-year drop of more than 20% in July.
Average net retail yields among lots sold since May by Acuitus and Allsop climbed slightly to 8.2% in July, compared to 7.9% in the first half of 2016 and 8% in the whole of 2015.
Acuitus chairman Richard Auterac said the auction houses had raised a combined £300.2m across both sales, calling it “the most astonishing results I can ever remember” considering the jittery market following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union.
He added: “Most buyers chose to ignore what they were reading and chose to follow what they believed was the right thing.”
However, combined sales receipts for July alone were more than a fifth lower than in the same month last year.
Allsop Commercial partner Duncan Moir said the eight-week period between mid-May and mid-July was the more appropriate period for assessing the impact of market uncertainty in the run-up to, and following, the referendum.
Essential Information Group figures show that Allsop and Acuitus offered a combined 243 lots and sold 197 at their most recent auctions, held last week. Allsop’s success rate was 80% and Acuitus’ was 84%.
The majority of lots were outside of London and the south east. Moir said anecdotally there had been an increase in the number of local buyers, possibly due to the regions’ more positive sentiment towards Brexit.
Auterac said it was “remarkable” that the yield movement had been “actually very small” in the circumstances.
Allsop’s latest commercial sale was held on 6 July at Park Lane Hotel, W1. Acuitus’ sale was on 7 July at Radisson Blu Portman Hotel, W1.
