Bond Wolfe Auctions’ decision to cancel its May auction and hold its first remote bidding only auction in June paid off handsomely.

The 131 lot auction raised £17 million with an astonishing 98% success rate - breaking Bond Wolfe Auctions’ own record for the most successful Midlands auction ever.

But the auction held on Wednesday 24 June proved so popular it nearly didn’t start at all.

The start was delayed when the third-party site hosting the online bidding system crashed due to the sheer volume of bidders logging in.

Prior to the auction day there were 25,381 phone call inquiries and 107,513 legal documents were downloaded.  The auction had over 3,000 registered bidders on the internet, on telephone and proxy and on the day, 28,786 watched the auction live.

Gurpreet Bassi, chief executive of Bond Wolfe Auctions, said: “Having taken the very difficult decision to cancel our May auction, as we felt that it was the only responsible and safe action to take during the peak stages of the pandemic, this was our first ‘behind closed doors’ remote-bidding only auction.

“When the auction did finally begin, bidders were chomping at the bit and we achieved some fantastic results. The hosting company tell us this was a record number of bidders for any single auction that they have ever experienced!”

Highlights were many and included a three bedroom, semi-detached house in Sheldon, Birmingham, selling for £187,000 from a *guide price of £25,000.

A four bedroom, detached property in Oldbury sold for £250,000 from a £99,000 guide price. In the East Midlands, a three bedroom, semi-detached house in Leicester sold for £172,000 off a guide price of £60,000.

Investments sold well also, with a three bedroom property in Quarry Bank, Brierley Hill, which was offered with a guide price of £74,000 finally selling for £138,000.

In Warwickshire, a six bedroom, semi-detached house in Kineton realised £296,000 from a £150,000 guide price. Back in the Black Country, a three bedroom semi-detached property in Oldbury sold for £196,000 of a guide price of £50,000.

But the sharpest “virtual” intake of breath was reserved for a £1 million plus result when Church Garth, a six bedroom former gentleman’s residence in Bickenhill, Solihull, close to Birmingham International Airport and national rail and motorway links, sold for £1,010,000 from a £495,000 guide price.

Gurpreet Bassi added: “The hard work and commitment of the Bond Wolfe Auctions staff throughout this difficult lockdown period has been awe-inspiring and they all deserve the success that they achieved.”

Bond Wolfe Auction’s next auction will be another remote bidding event from 10am on Wednesday 29 July.