Recent auction in North West affected by credit crunch

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by Lin Freestone

Sutton Kersh, one of the largest independent property agents in Merseyside, has raised more than £4.5m from its latest Liverpool property auction. Though well attended, sales were down, indicating that the credit crunch is having an effect.

In the opinion of James Kersh, a director of the company, it was probably one of the toughest auctions the company has conducted. He noted that the auction room was very well attended, showing that Sutton Kersh auctions are still very popular with investors, but most people chose to sit on their hands.

He considers that vendors now need to be realistic and realise that we are operating in a different market to 12 months ago, even four weeks ago.

Two pubs were among the 116 lots that went under the hammer. The opening lot, the Spekeland pub, had a guide price of £100,000 and sold for £127,000. The Dart pub, in Lodge Lane, Liverpool, attracted a good level of bidding and eventually sold for £50,000 above its guide price at £127,000

A mixed-use investment was of interest to two bidders who, between them, raised the final price to £125,000, 25% more than its guide price.

Sutton Kersh Auctions is the most successful property auctioneer in the North West and is ranked amongst the top 20 in the country. In 2007, the company made record sales of £37m on Liverpool property auction sales alone.