The average price of empty houses bought at auction in London has soared by £43,000, while stock has fallen.
Bidders in London paid an average of £511,465 for houses in the past year, up by 9% on 2013-2014.
The South West recorded the biggest percentage rise, with its average house price at auction rising by 13% from £179,979 to £203,618.
Only Yorkshire and the Humber and Scotland have seen no change in house prices at auction, according to Estate Gazette’s analysis of Essential Information Group data.
Meanwhile, the number of empty houses coming under the hammer has fallen by 12% to 9,585 lots, echoing the wider housing market with demand outstripping supply – although the figures do not reveal the number of vacant houses offered at auction, only those sold.
Allsop residential auctions partner Richard Adamson said some sellers had been “sitting on their hands” before the general election in May, but volumes now seemed to be levelling off.
The only region where significantly more houses have been sold than last year is the South East, where 800 houses were sold in the November 2014-2015 period, up from 701 over the previous 12 months.
Adamson suggested sellers in the Home Counties may be trying to “cash in” on properties to attract buyers who are priced out of London.
