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Under the hammer

Homes sold at auction are achieving record sums above the guide amounts set by valuers as lower property prices have brought about a bidding war among bargain-hunters...

Countrywide, Britain's biggest estate agent, sold a two-bedroom cottage near Truro in Cornwall for 109 per cent above its guide price of £60,000 in September, almost beating its previous record set in March of 110 per cent above the guide price of a two-bedroom bungalow, also in Cornwall.

Allsop, another auctioneer, has also achieved its highest margins above the guide in recent months, as confidence grows that the market has bottomed out. Housing economists believe that house prices were at their lowest in March and April, before beginning their recent climb.

In February, Allsop sold a Grade II-listed freehold terrace in Kensington, London for £2.52 million - 129 per cent above the lower limit of a £1.1 million to £1.25 million guide price. In September, a flat in Kensington sold for £615,000 - 146 per cent above the £250,000 lower limit.

The auctioneer said that all these properties were sold to owner-occupiers rather than buy-to-let investors.

Graham Barton, senior auctioneer for Westcountry Property Auctions and a presenter on BBC One's Homes under the Hammer, said: "In a recession these results are amazing. They are the biggest margins over guide I can remember in 30 years in the industry. Owner-occupiers are leading the way with these purchases - people who are buying somewhere they want to live rather than to make a profit."

The sales most exceeding expectations are in locations "renowned for holding their value or in towns and cities undergoing redevelopment", Countrywide said.

The agents who conducted viewings on the properties said they were surprised by the level of interest. A spokeswoman for Stratton Creber, which marketed the cottage near Truro, said: "We were surprised but think it attracted so much attention precisely because the guide was set at £60,000."

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk