Repossessions Drive 2024 Auction Market Boom

The number of homes going under the hammer is booming thanks to lenders repossessing more properties from borrowers in mortgage arrears.

Mortgage lender trade body UK Finance reports that 1,690 homes were repossessed in Q2 2024, comprising 980 from owners and 710 from private landlords—the most repossessions since the coronavirus pandemic but still below the long-term average.

Repossessions are the primary source of homes going to auction, and the growing number of homes seized by lenders has boosted the supply, says David Sandeman of auction tracking website Essential Information Group (EIG).

“With UK Finance announcing a 34 per cent year-on-year increase in mortgage repossessions, which were previously a mainstay of auctions prior to the pandemic, it appears that the growth trajectory of auctions could well continue if a proportion of this stock comes to the rostrum,” he said.

The latest quarterly report from EIG monitoring auctions between May and July 2024 shows that sales increased by 66 per cent compared to 2023.

Auction sales rise 27%

In Q2 2024, 2,738, the hammer went down on housing lots worth £476.4 million, up £189.9 million from Q2 2023’s £286.5 million from 1,896 lots sold.

In the year ending July 31, auction sales from home sales reached £1.2 billion, 27 per cent more than the previous year.

The average price of a home sold at auction in July was £173,850, compared with £288,000 for non-auction home sales.

However, values at auction climbed 13 per cent in the year. Last July’s auction price averaged £151,108.

Non-auction prices have gone the other way, dropping £1,824 from £289,824 in July 2023 to £288,000 a year later.

Q2 2024 Auction Data for home sales

Source: Land Registry\EIG