The UK’s leading property auctioneer Auction House is bucking the national auction trend, with a 14% rise in lots sold in 2015, compared to last year. This contrasts with the latest Essential Information Group picture of a 4.8% drop in auction lot sales year on year, and within a property market that commentators say exhibits a real shortage of instructions. During the first three-quarters of this year, the award-winning auctioneer recorded 2,370 lots sold from 3,087 offered, at a success rate of 77%, and raising a total of £305 million. Commenting on the figures, Auction House Founding Director Roger Lake said “Our network of regional auction rooms is the clear differentiator here. No other auctioneer offers 40 salerooms across the country to choose from – something which gives us three clear advantages: Firstly, sellers know that they can achieve better prices by placing their property with an auction room close to home. Secondly, we pick up more private instructions from locals who wish to sell quickly, rather than being reliant on a dwindling supply of corporate lots and repossessions. Finally, we are able to offer unparalleled knowledge about the local market – values, sale prices, rents and yields - from experts who actually live and work in the area, so sellers are naturally drawn towards us.” October is also proving to be a bumper month for Auction House – it’s second busiest of the year - with over 600 lots entered, and has a further 40 auctions scheduled for November and December. Roger Lake added: “In the regions, auctions have gone from the method of last resort to one which is often the preferred route to market. We can also report that commercial sales are up, and we are seeing more land parcels being successfully sold as well. Demand for residential investments has improved, with buy-to-let landlords particularly active. “Now we are targeting a busy final quarter and expect more vendors to choose auction because it is the only method that can deliver speedy completions before the end of the calendar year and the onset of winter.”