Savills achieved an 80% success rate at its first residential auction of the year, raising £64.2m.
Of 216 lots offered, 157 sold in the room and six prior to auction.
The top result was £4.3m paid for a large unmodernised house in Norwood, SE19, converted into 15 flats. It was one of seven properties sold in the room for more than £1m.
Head of auctions Chris Coleman Smith said: “It was absolutely fantastic to start the year like that, especially after the last six months of last year. It is a real boost to the auctions market.
“There was a good cross-section of buyers, and a lot who wanted something they can add value to,” he said.
The level of activity was a marked improvement on November and December, when Savills’ success rate was 68% and 74% respectively.
Coleman Smith pointed to several lots where the sale price far exceeded the guide price. A former warehouse used by Thames Water in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, which needs planning approval for development, was guided at £350,000-plus, but sold for £925,000.
“There was fierce competition for that lot because of the development potential, and Marlow is a very desirable area,” said Coleman Smith.
Two mixed-use lots also sold for well above their estimates.
A shop and post office with flat above in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, sold for £625,000 off a guide of £425,000, and a shop with flat above in Maida Vale, W9, was guided at £450,000 and sold for £753,000.
A bungalow in Cheam, Surrey, sold for £368,000 off a guide of £290,000.
The sale took place at the London Marriott Hotel, W1, on 13 February.
