A ground floor shop in Halifax shrouded in mystery due to being inaccessible ahead of the recent sale for Auction House West Yorkshire, has sold for more than £25,000 with bidding having started at just £5,000.

Auctioneer David Pank said, “The appetite for properties in need of work is insatiable. We had no idea what this property in Ovenden Road was like inside before the sale, as nobody was able to enter the building. We were told by neighbours that it was in a very poor condition but this did not put off the buyers. At £25,250 you could easily have got the most fabulous bargain if you were prepared to the take the risk. It’s in a great position on a busy road not far from the centre of Halifax.”

Another property which attracted some fierce bidding during the auction, on Wednesday 26th March 2014 in the saleroom at Leeds United Football Club, was a three bedroom semi detached property in Benson Gardens, Wortley. It was the potential of this property in a highly regarded area which sent people racing to the auction room. Although the house needs total modernisation it has a large garden which could offer the potential to build another property on the land with the correct planning permission in place. This lot attracted 50 viewings ahead of the bidding. It started with a guide price of £70,000 and sold for £114,000.

David Pank said, “We are seeing more and more people buying a home to live in at auction as the whole process is considered more ‘mainstream’ and is losing the ‘fear factor’ it once held. We get people from all over the country attending our auctions and frequently find people flying in from abroad – with someone even arriving from Norway at this sale.”