Smith sells 70% of July catalogue

Wirral auction house Smith & Sons raised £1.2m and saw a success rate of 72% of lots sold at its latest sale on Wednesday 11 July.

Houses in need of refurbishment and in good residential locations once again proved popular appealing to builders, investors and owner occupiers. Whilst several properties achieved figures in excess of the reserves, several bargains were had by buyers looking to make a keen investment.

Outstanding buys included a four-bedroom detached house in Heswall selling for £142,000, a house in Borrowdale Road, Moreton, subject to a regulated tenancy, sold for £45,000 and a self-contained lock-up workshop in Birkenhead fetched £40,000. A semi-detached house in Rock Ferry currently occupied as four separate residential units and producing a rental income when fully let of £17,160, sold for £100,000, whilst a four-bedroom house in Oxton sold for £60,000.

There were 25 lots on offer on the day, with four withdrawn before the auction.

Chris Johnson, auctioneer, said: "Despite a less crowded room that usual, we were delighted to achieve a success rate of over 70% and some post-auction sales will raise this figure even higher.

"Our membership of Auction House UK which is now in the top three auction houses in the UK allows us to market extensively throughout the UK by using the network of regional offices and property databases and we are seeing more bidders from outside the immediate area."

A small area of woodland on the edge of Arrowe Park attracted most interest and, despite having no planning permission, sold for £14,000 after some lively bidding.

A grade I-listed building in Hamilton Square sold for £160,000, well in excess of the guide price which illustrates demand for good quality commercial property in and around Hamilton Square, possibly due to Peel's proposed International Trade Centre and regeneration of the Birkenhead and Wallasey Docks.

Smith & Sons' next sale will be held on 19 September with a closing date of 17 August.