Birmingham residential properties that need a little tender loving care are as popular as ever and that was clear at the September auction of SDL Auctions Bigwood which raised over £17 million.

In one of the best results for an auction held in the city in years, bidders in a busy auction room in the Holte Suite at Aston Villa FC competed fiercely for the best buys in a 133 lot catalogue that saw a success rate of 85 per cent.

Gurpreet Bassi, head of residential auctions at SDL Auctions Bigwood, said: “From total redevelopment projects to properties that just need a little TLC, buyers were clearly keen on properties where they could really make a difference with some creative improvements and renovations.

“It seems that buyers in Birmingham and the Black Country really have got the fixing up bug – big time!”

30 Chalgrove Avenue in Kings Norton gave an early indicator of some of the results that would be achieved in the auction, selling for £220,000. The four bedroomed link detached house had a * guide price in excess of £50,000.

A detached three bedroomed house in Walsall at 178 Victoria Avenue sold for £155,000. It had a guide price of £29,000-£34,000.

In Balsall Heath, fierce bidding for a two bedroomed end-of-terrace property at 7 Oak Avenue, off Runcorn Road, saw the hammer fall at £98,000. It had a guide price of £19,000-£24,000.

59 Corser Street in Dudley, a three bedroomed end-of-terrace property, which had a guide price in excess of £40,000, sold for £87,000.

In Walsall, 51 Wrexham Avenue, a three bedroomed semi-detached house, sold for £97,000. It had a guide price in excess of £60,000.

Brianolf, a three bedroomed detached property in Station Road, Wolverhampton, sold for £140,000, having gone under the hammer with a guide price in excess of £50,000.

Further afield in picturesque rural Welford-on-Avon, The Chalet in Binton Road, a three bedroomed detached riverside lodge dating from the 1920s, sold for £320,000. It had a guide price of £195,000.

A three bedroomed detached house at 162 Lichfield Road in Walsall sold for £158,000.It had a guide price in excess of £50,000.

Someone who really likes a challenge was the winning bidder for 94 Holford Drive in Perry Barr. This fire damaged, two bedroomed semi-detached house was offered without the benefit of internal viewings and with a guide price in excess of £25,000. It sold for £116,000.

Gurpreet Bassi said: “We were very pleased with the result of our latest auction. Not only did we have a packed out auction room throughout the day, we also had bidders from all parts of the UK, whether in the room, via the internet, by proxy or on the telephone.

The success of the September auction bodes well for the next SDL Auctions Bigwood auction at Aston Villa FC on Wednesday 24 October.