Almost £1m was raised for two city councils at SDL Bigwood’s latest Birmingham auction, which raised £10m from 76% of the lots offered.
Six lots were sold for Birmingham City Council. The largest was a former depot and yard in Handsworth guided at £150,000 to £175,000 that sold for £450,000.
A further two properties were sold for Wolverhampton City Council, including a former community centre in Wolverhampton. It was guided at £94,000 to £98,000 and sold under the hammer for £210,000.
Rory Daly, chief executive and auctioneer, said: “It was a strong auction with a very busy room. There was some exceptional bidding.” He expected the sales figure to rise owing to “lots of interest in the various unsold lots”.
Residential properties in Birmingham were in high demand. A freehold block of 12 two-bedroom flats, producing £70,500 pa, sold for £935,000 off a guide of £800,000 – a yield of 7.5%.
A three-bedroom mid-terrace house in Longbridge sold for £81,000 off a guide of £29,000 to £34,000.
However, Black Country homes were even more in demand, with a vacant semi-detached, three-bedroom house in Willenhall selling for £90,000 off a guide of £29,000 to £34,000.
A pub near Kidderminster, guided at £50,000, sold for £231,000, while a three-bedroom semi in Solihull, guided at £150,000 to £175,000, sold for £271,000 after 161 viewings.
The sale took place on 8 September at Aston Villa Football Club.
