Award-winning auctioneer Auction House is reporting robust figures for May 2017, selling almost a quarter more lots (23%) than during the same period last year.

The UK’s leading property auctioneer successfully sold 274 lots in the month, compared to 223 in May 2016.

Commenting on the figures, Auction House Founding Director Roger Lake said: “Despite holding the same number of auctions during the two months in question, the group has sold a significantly increased number of lots. This suggests that the appetite for selling under the hammer through our regional auction rooms hasn’t been diminished by concerns over Brexit or the snap General Election.

“Even if people made their decision to put properties into our May sales prior to the election announcement, our entries for June look likely to be nearly 100 lots ahead of last year – and these were all placed with us when the election campaign was already underway. This indicates that there’s no shortage of sellers around the country, and purchasers are still hungry to buy.”

Roger Lake contrasts the continued healthy activity in the auctions sector with that in the private treaty market, where there are reports of lower instructions and fewer viewings. He explained: “The truth is that many sellers are in a hurry, so they choose the auction route to market in order to get the results they want in the time scale they require. Meanwhile, buyers are still active in most areas with property still seen as an effective hedge against inflation – which means we are continuing to see a number of properties being sold to investors.

“Auctions provide essential speed and certainty for our customers. We’ve noticed a strengthening of volumes in the northern half of the country, but things are buoyant in the south of England too. And our auctions in Scotland and Wales are showing good numbers.

“All of which indicates that - despite a challenging sales environment - there has been no let-up in activity, and properties are still selling well under the hammer.”​