Auction House East Anglia sells over £7.5m of property

Robert Hurst, auction surveyor at Auction House East Anglia, said the firm had sold 47 out of 72 lots on Thursday, May 4, as rising mortgage costs and the cost-of-living crisis results in a reduced number of buyers.

“Sellers have to wave goodbye to the post-pandemic property boom and become more realistic about prices,” he says.

“Most of our vendors placed competitive guides on their properties. However, there is still a clear gap between some sellers’ expectations and what buyers are prepared to pay, and we are having to use our powers of diplomacy and persuasion to find common ground with sellers on pricing.

“Rising interest rates are putting a dampener on the market with the Bank of England’s base rate at 4.25pc after its 11th consecutive increase. The next meeting of the bank’s monetary policy committee is on May 11.”

A former place of worship with planning permission to convert into a three-bedroom dwelling on Hunstanton Road in Heacham sold for £240,000 (Image: Auction House East Anglia)

Yet despite a slowing market, Mr Hurst says the firm’s success rate is still “encouraging”, with regular buyers still wanting to buy and experienced investors still seeing it as a “window of opportunity” to purchase stock.

“Financing is still difficult,” he adds, “however with high inflation, those with cash do not want to leave money in the bank, and so are putting this into land and property, keeping the auction market more robust than we might have expected. This bodes well for the forthcoming months.”

A property in Lake View, Rackheath Park sold for £279,000 (Image: Auction House East Anglia)

The highest price lot on the day was three acres of land with development potential near Norwich Airport, which sold for £370,000.

The lowest price was a building plot with planning permission for two flats in Wisbech, which made £40,000.

Other sales included:

• On behalf of a housing association, a three-bedroom, semi-detached house requiring modernisation on West End in Costessey sold for £190,000.
• A three-bedroom, semi-detached house requiring modernisation on East Hills Road in Norwich sold for £147,000.
• A two-bedroom, semi-detached house in need of modernisation on Stocks Hill in Bawburgh sold for £221,000.
• A ground-floor, two-bedroom flat requiring modernisation on Lakenfields in Norwich sold for £100,000.
• A vacant shop in need of updating on Fairland Street in Wymondham sold for £96,000.
• A three-bedroom, semi-detached house in need of updating on Thunder Lane in Norwich sold for £238,000.
• A three-bedroom, semi-detached house in need of modernisation on Mill Hill Lane in Morley St Botolph sold for £227,000.
• A one-bedroom, linked bungalow in need of updating off Lincoln Close in Hingham sold for £117,000.
• A quarter-of-an-acre plot of a recently demolished cottage off The Street in Edingthorpe sold for £74,500.
• A vacant, Grade II listed shop on Market Place in North Walsham sold for £82,500.
• A three-bedroom, detached bungalow on Elvin Road in Dereham sold for £199,000.
• An end-terrace, one-bedroom bungalow on Station Road in Earsham sold for £114,500.
• A second-floor, one-bedroom flat off Yarmouth Road in Norwich sold for £46,000.
• 2.3 acres of amenity land adjoining Filby Broad sold for £46,000.
• A first-floor flat let producing £4,800 pa on Broad Road in Great Yarmouth sold for £40,000.
• A three-bedroom terrace house requiring improvement on Mill Road in Great Yarmouth sold for £80,000.
• A mid-terrace property arranged as three one-bedroom flats let producing £16,640 pa on South Market Road in Great Yarmouth sold for £166,000.
• A two-bedroom bungalow of non-standard construction on Bush Drive in Eccles-on-Sea sold for £85,000.
• Brownfield land extending to 0.06 of an acre on Southgates Road in Great Yarmouth sold for £53,000.
• A two-bedroom, detached bungalow of non-standard construction on Folgate Lane in Walpole St Andrew sold for £136,000.
• A former place of worship with planning permission to convert into a three-bedroom dwelling on Hunstanton Road in Heacham sold for £240,000.
• A building plot with planning permission to build a two-bedroom, detached bungalow off Grigg Close in Diss sold for £47,500.
• A two-bedroom, mid-terrace house requiring improvement on Southampton Place in Great Yarmouth sold for £73,500.
• A two-bedroom, mid-terrace house let to students on Bury Street in Norwich sold for £238,000.
• A two-bedroom, mid-terrace house on Henley Road in Norwich sold for £228,000.
• A two-bedroom, terraced house on Riverside Road in Norwich sold for £194,500.

Auction House East Anglia is now taking entries for its next auction on Wednesday, June 14, for which entries will close in mid-May.

If you have land or property that needs to be sold or would like free, impartial advice about the auction process, contact Auction House East Anglia on 01603 505100 or visit auctionhouse.co.uk/eastanglia