In 2021 Liverpool property firm Sutton Kersh raised more than £80m in auction sales and has now seen a strong start to 2022. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool property firm Sutton Kersh has raised £10.4m in receipts from its first auction of 2022.
As has been the case since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Kersh held the auction online and more than 700 bidders registered for the event from across the UK. This was the highest number so far for an online auction. In 2022 the firm recorded sales of more than £80m on 700 properties.
Pre-auction sales hit £3.1m while lots worth a further £7.3m were sold on the day. The first lot of the day was a four-bedroom detached home in Southport. It had a guide price of £185,000 and the property needs a full upgrade throughout. A strong bidding war took place and ultimately resulted in it selling for £104,000 above guide price.
Lot two, another residential property in need of refurbishment, had a guide of £75,000 and sold for £119,000. Lot six, a three-bedroom mid-terrace in north Liverpool by Stanley Park, had a guide of £70,000 and has a potential rental income of £7,800 a year. It sold for £101,000 which is close to the open market price for the area.
This trend continued throughout the auction with residential and terraced properties in need of modernisation and refurbishment selling for over their guide prices. Lot seven was in south Liverpool. It was listed at a bargain price of £40,000 and sold for £74,000 on the day.
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Birch House, a four-bedroom detached house in Lower Withington, Cheshire set within two acres of land was listed with a guide of £450,000 and is in need of refurbishment and modernisation. It attracted bidders from across the country and, after another bidding war, it sold for £683,000, which was £233,000 over its guide price.
A commercial/mixed-use property on Ormskirk Street in St Helens, comprising two ground floor retail units and ancillary accommodation, it sold for £308,000 which was £108,000 over the guide price. There was a high number of bidders from across the country for this property.
Cathy Holt, associate director at Sutton Kersh Auctions, said: “The demand for properties was as strong as it was last year, especially for residential and investment properties. We are delighted with how well today went, selling 80 properties which was more than 80% of the lots available.
“A lot of homes are coming to market that need refurbishment or modernisation, so much so that more than 50 Lots were residential investment opportunities in this auction. The demand for these types of property is still so high as, for many, it is more cost effective than buying a house that is move-in-ready.”