Auction bidders with ready cash ‘remain scarce’

Sutton Kersh sold 42 of 73 properties available at its auction held at the Marriott Hotel in Liverpool city centre last week.

The total revenue for the event to date is in excess of £2m with more deals expected to be completed over the coming week.

Cathy Holt, auction manager at Sutton Kersh, said: "It wasn't our best auction of the year although we did manage to sell 40 properties and expect this to rise to 50 with post sales. There were a lot of competitive bids in the room, primarily for cheap investment properties with a good rent return. After speaking to a number of investors in the room it is clear that funding is still a major problem for investors. Whilst they recognise that there are a lot of good deals available in the current marketplace, they do not have finance readily available to be able to buy. Investors are looking for cheap properties with a minimum of a 10% return, and in some cases more. We can't feel too disheartened by the sale. We have sold over 200 properties across 4 auctions so far this year raising in excess of £12.5m, which is no mean achievement in what continues to be a tricky marketplace."

The majority of properties sold fell between £25,000 and £60,000. A vacant three-bedroom mid town house in Montrovia Crescent near Aintree hospital was guided at £45,000 and sold in the room for £57,000.

Another property that attracted a good level of bidding was lot 41, a residential investment property on Ridgemont Avenue in Norris Green. The three-bedroom middle-terrace property is currently let by way of an assured shorthold tenancy at a rental of £6,000 a year. Guided at £45,000, the property sold for £55,000, reflecting a rental yield of 10.9% a year.