Sales of £31.6m achieved at auction as Bond Wolfe shatters records

Bond Wolfe, based in Birmingham, has made history by hosting the largest property auction ever held outside of London, smashing previous records and achieving sales of more than £31.6 million.

The landmark auction, held on Thursday, set new benchmarks for Bond Wolfe, featuring the highest total sales revenue in the company’s history, along with the largest number of £1m-plus properties sold in a single event.

In total, there were 177 lots sold, representing an impressive 94 per cent of the 190 lots offered, and the grand total raised was £31,622,050.

It brings Bond Wolfe’s running total for the year to more than £131m, an increase of over £20m at the same period in 2023.

There had been an exciting run-up in the weeks leading up to the auction, with would-be bidders producing 633,682 website page views, watching 179,445 video tours and downloading 41,492 legal packs.

A number of £1m-plus lots were successfully sold, including the former Maypole Methodist Church on Sladepool Farm Road in Kings Heath, Birmingham, which had a guide price of £345,000+ but was sold for more than three times that at £1.1m.

Gurpreet Bassi, chief executive at Bond Wolfe, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled by the record-breaking success of this auction.

“Not only was it the largest property auction ever held outside of London, but the demand and competitive bidding reflect a strong and growing appetite for properties across the UK.

“This is a clear indication that the property market remains buoyant, and the economy is continuing its recovery.”

Other highlights on the day included the sale of a three-bedroomed, semi-detached house called 'Highlands' at 24 Vicarage Road in Penn, Wolverhampton, which sold for £326,000 – well over double its guide price of £150,000.

Property investors’ enthusiasm was so strong for certain lots that several were sold prior to auction for amounts that were above guide prices.

These included eight freehold mixed use investment properties at 10-17 Marsh Lane Parade in Wolverhampton, which had a £1.45m guide price, and the former Bearwood Corks Social Club at 558 Bearwood Road in Smethwick, which had a £900,000 guide price.

The Bond Wolfe team is already preparing for their next livestreamed online auction on October 24.

Mr Bassi added: “Given the momentum we have built up, we are expecting another highly competitive event, with early indications pointing to continued strong demand from investors.”