Pricing has always been the key component to a successful property auction, whatever the prevailing market conditions,” says Oliver Childs, partner and national head of property auctions at Sanderson Weatherall. “I cut my teeth as an in-room auctioneer, and I can tell you that over-pricing a property to win the instruction would simply lead to a very lonely place standing at the rostrum on the auction day. I have pioneered online auctions, but such experiences are great reminders of why pricing is fundamentally key to finding the market. And this year has been especially price-sensitive.
“While wider UK prices are broadly stable, affordability and mortgage costs remain constraints, but auction activity remains relatively resilient. Essential Information Group reports that between July 2025 and August 2026 the number of lots offered at auction increased 11.7 per cent; lots sold for the same period increased 10.1 per cent and the total raised increased by 8 per cent.”
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For residential properties, those where a buyer can add value, refurbish or extend have sold well, such as a three-bedroom house needing refurbishment in Harrow, which sold for £462,000 in May, after 86 bids. Mixed-use properties in prominent, affluent locations are also popular.
Unique properties, such as the freehold land and underground tank in Sanderson Weatherall’s September 10 sale, can act as a barometer of the market on the day, says Childs, where owner occupiers compete on different levels of pricing, with emotion influencing their decision to bid.
