The SDL Auctions team pulled together in a marathon team effort for the company’s first ever national property auction yesterday, which raised £7.7 million for sellers. 

 Held behind closed doors to maintain social distancing, SDL Auctions’ first national property auction saw managing director and auctioneer Andrew Parker work his way through a catalogue of 115 lots over a mammoth seven-hour session. 

 After a short delay due to a rush of last-minute bidding requests, the auction got off to a lively start with some eager bidding for a house in Nottingham. 

 An extended bay-fronted property in one of Beeston’s most popular locations, 1 Fellows Road requires full refurbishment but has the potential to become a desirable family home. It sold for £235,000 from a *guide price of £135,000+. 

 Andrew said: “This was a fantastic way to start our first national property auction. Bidding was fast and furious, producing a great result for our seller. This came as no surprise as it’s an excellent property with a huge amount of potential, whether for a private buyer or landlord investor.”

 Working from the company’s auction studio at its head office were Andrew and his wife,  Rachael, who is the regional property manager for the East Midlands, assisted by his son, Elliott, both managing internet bids. The wider SDL Auctions team was working remotely, taking telephone bids and conveying them to the auction studio via Microsoft Teams. 

 Andrew said: “It was a huge team effort and I couldn’t be more proud of every single staff member who pulled together to make our first national property auction a huge success. It was a marathon session with more than 100 lots, which just confirmed our belief that we are providing a valuable service to sellers at this difficult time. Not everyone is in a position to wait until the crisis passes and lockdown restrictions are eased, so we are proud to be here for those sellers and to keep the auctions industry moving”

 Among the stand-out lots of the day was a bungalow in Staffordshire, which attracted enthusiastic bidding before selling for £130,000 from a guide price of £50,000+. 35 Milehouse Lane in Newcastle-under-Lyme is a spacious two bedroomed detached bungalow in need of updating and renovation. It stands in a generous plot with a driveway and garage at the front and a good-sized rear garden. 

 Competition for the property was so fierce that Andrew quipped: “If anyone else has a bungalow in Milehouse Lane, you should get in touch because we have several buyers waiting.”

 The lowest-priced residential lot was a flat in Mablethorpe which auctioneers say should prove to be an excellent investment after it sold for £23,000 from a guide price of £15,000+

 16a Tennyson Road in Mablethorpe is a vacant two bedroomed flat with easy access both to sandy beaches and to the town centre. The property, which requires some modernisation, would be suitable for several uses, including as ‘lock-up-and-leave’ coastal retreat or a high-yield rental property with a potential monthly income of £450 per calendar month.

 Land proved extremely popular, too, with a plot in Nottinghamshire selling for £160,000 from a guide price of £75,000+. The Yard, land and buildings on the north-east side of The Broadway in Mansfield is a vacant 0.2-acre plot on The Broadway Industrial Site opposite Mansfield Police Station and less than a mile from the railway station. It has previously been used for storage but would lend itself to a number of uses, including redevelopment, subject to obtaining the relevant planning permissions.

 Andrew added: “We are hugely grateful to all of our buyers and sellers who put their trust in us to handle their property transactions at this difficult time. We are proud to offer the speed and certainty of an auction sale, with a fall-through rate of less than 2% and completion typically taking place in 20 working days. It’s reassuring to have this level of certainty in uncertain times.”

Entries are now being taken for the national property auction on Thursday 28th May which, again, will be held behind closed doors and streamed live over the internet. Properties can also be sold at any time via online auction. To find out more about which auction method is best for your property, call the team on 0800 304 7879 or visit www.sdlauctions.co.uk for more information.