Bidders from Greece, France, London and throughout the Symonds & Sampson region competed strongly for all of the properties at the firm’s latest auctions in March with one buyer flying over from America especially to attend.

Auctioneer Mark Lewis said “We anticipated that the auction in Sherborne would last for about half an hour but there were so many people bidding, 62 bids were taken on one lot, that we took an extra 15 minutes.  Buyers were not only keen but they were in good spirits and this bodes well for the monthly auctions that we have lined up for this year.”

There was a mouth-watering catalogue in Sherborne with 8 lots throughout Dorset and South Somerset.  In Weymouth a terraced house in need of complete renovation received huge interest with the hammer falling at £102,000, double the guide.  This was quickly followed by a flat in Abbotsbury Road, Weymouth, again in need of complete renovation and with a guide of £35,000, which eventually sold for £68,000.

In Poole a detached chalet bungalow sold for £220,000 and in Leigh, near Sherborne, another bungalow sold for £181,000 against a guide of £150,000, whilst in Wincanton a semi-detached Victorian house sold for 50% above the guide with the hammer falling at £120,000.

A quite unique property in Shillingstone, near Blandford, with a one bedroom cottage, stables and paddocks sold for £312,000 against a guide of £240,000.

Two headline lots attracted great interest.  Greendown at Sutton Poyntz was a partly built house enjoying spectacular views over the surrounding countryside sold for £770,000 and what Mark Lewis described as ‘one of the best building plots to be offered at a Symonds & Sampson auction for many years’ was in Bath Road, Sturminster Newton.  This sold for £370,000 against of guide of £250,000.

The previous week we were down in Devon when small acreages of land sold for up to £20,000/acre whilst a fascinating property, a five acre paddock with woodland and stream together with a building occupied by the late owner without planning permission, although Council Tax was paid, sold for £148,000.