Smith & Sons auction hits £1.6m

Wirral auctioneer Smith & Sons sold 24 out of 30 lots at its first auction of 2014.

Homes for refurbishment and residential investments proved popular with many achieving sale prices above the guide. The first lot of the day, a semi-detached property in Bebington, was sold for £120,000 against a guide of £90,000, while a nearby flat also sold for £87,000 against a guide of £70-80,000. Residential investments in Birkenhead and Wallasey were also sold with returns over 12%.

Chris Johnson, auctioneer at Smith & Sons, said: "This was a fantastic first auction for 2014. The room was incredibly busy and there were people interested in most of the lots rather than a selected few.

"There is a definite growing confidence within the property market and we are starting to see a lot more movement from both buyers and sellers. We believe that this trend will continue as 2014 gathers momentum and we expect an even stronger sale for our April auction."

The sale took place on Wednesday 26 February.