Landwood Property Auctions are meeting surging demand for development opportunities – by continuing to stage weekly sales throughout August – when many of their rivals down tools.
Summer months traditionally see most auction houses scale back or halt operations entirely. But, Landwood are doing the reverse and maintaining their timetable of industry-leading online-only sales every seven days as more and more customers seek to snap up land.
Recent auctions have shown how strong the demand for plots is with one in Stalybridge, Cheshire reaching 19 times its £5,000 guide price – selling for £95,000 after 298 bids. Similarly, a further plot of land in Stroud, Gloucestershire went for 3.5 times its estimate – selling for £325,000 following 150 bids.
“In times of economic uncertainty like these, you often see increased demand for land as investors see it as a safe place for their money. And we’ve certainly been witnessing plots with residential development opportunities performing particularly strongly recently,” said Landwood Property Auctions Director Kate Lay.
“That’s why, while others hang up their gavels over the summer, we’re continuing to hold our auctions on a weekly basis throughout August and into the rest of the year.”
Recent highlights from the July 29 sale evidence this strong demand for properties with residential development potential.
Two care homes in Cumbria were sold on behalf of Cumbria County Council for £406,000 and £244,000, compared with the guide prices of £100,000 and £125,000 respectively. There was strong interest in the lead up to the auction from residential developers, as well as from those in the care sector.
Further recent successes include a commercial unit in High Wycombe, Bucks that went for 25% over the £1million guide price after failing to sell privately.
Landwood’s pioneering tech-driven approach dispenses with a physical auctioneer – allowing more bids to be taken in a shorter space of time – maximising potential returns for sellers and giving buyers more opportunities to secure a property. It helped them sell £11million of property during lockdown.
