Landwood Property Auctions is hailing a switch to weekly online auctions as the catalyst for a massive rise in activity in 2019. 

While the property sector as a whole has struggled against the backdrop of Brexit and a snap general election, Manchester-based Landwood managed to buck the trend. 

Landwood Property Auctions, which first launched on to the market in February 2018 as one of the first in the industry to sell solely online, made the call in 2019 to step up its offering and increase the regularity of auctions from monthly to weekly. 

Following the introduction of auctions every seven days, Landwood saw three times as many lots listed on its site as for the entire 12-month period preceding it, with sales levels also more than doubling. Some lots even sold for as much as 356 per cent more than their listed guide price. 

Throughout 2019, Landwood sold more than £16.5 million worth of property via its online auction service, £2 million of which came from lots selling over their reserve price. 

With more opportunities to both buy and sell online with Landwood Property Auctions, success looks set to continue throughout 2020 and beyond. 

Landwood Property Auctions director Kate Lay said: “We deliver a genuinely personal service, giving clients immediate access to impartial, straightforward and clear advice. 

“We work hard to constantly develop innovative ways of delivering auction services that fit with modern, ever-changing client and buyer requirements and behaviours. As early adopters of an online-only auction format, we understand the benefits of doing so to offer a wider range of properties for sale, as well as how to maximise the potential of the technology on offer. 

“Introducing weekly auctions was just another way of us setting a new standard for what buyers and sellers alike can expect from an online auction service. 

“The average amount of time it takes to sell a property through traditional methods is 62 days – but through Landwood’s weekly online auctions the process can be much quicker. For example, it can take as little as 14 days for completion to take place once a property has sold. 

“The ease of access to our system also helps to ensure there’s a higher number of potential bidders, and thus a higher sales success rate.” 

Fellow director James Ashworth added: “We’re proud to be one of the first to adopt online as our auction method and set new standards for its success. 

“It’s fantastic to see such growth and we look forward to seeing lot and sales numbers increase in the coming months, with 2020 looking set to be our most successful year yet.” 

Across the year, Landwood dealt with everything from a city centre penthouse apartment to a grade two listed bank, a holiday home in the Shetland Isles to a stretch of riverbank in the heart of the Lake District National Park. 

And it wasn’t just the bigger properties that attracted the most interest, with buyers rushing to snap up the lower priced and smaller lots as a way to expand their property portfolio. This variety on offer is yet another aspect of Landwood’s service which helped to make 2019 and their weekly auctions a huge success. 

Directors Kate and James are already well prepared for the year ahead and, with concrete plans in place to further develop the brand and it’s online offering in the coming months, it’s an exciting time to be involved with Landwood Property Auctions. 

Kate said: “With our new website launching in February alongside our new company branding, we can’t wait to see what comes next. In the earlier days of Landwood Property Auctions, many asked us if online bidding could truly match the competition of a traditional room auction. 

The answer is clear to see. We offer everything that a traditional auction room does but with more modern customer experience to suit the wants and needs of the era. The success of our approach is proven with the increased number of sales.”