Leading north west property auctioneer Sutton Kersh, sold 35 of the 60 properties available at its opening auction of the year. The sale took place at the Liverpool City Centre Marriott Hotel on Thursday 17^th February.

Pre auction activity was high with 14 properties selling prior. The remaining lots were offered to a busy room that attracted almost 200 people. The total revenue generated from the sale currently stands at £2.4million, with more sales in the pipeline.

The stand out lots of the day were 2 vacant residential properties. 8 Craven Road, near West Derby Village, is a substantial 3-storey semidetached property that has been converted into 4 self contained flats. Guided at £100,000, the property, which was offered with vacant possession, attracted numerous underbidders and eventually sold in the room for £143,000.  

Another substantial vacant residential property located on the junction of Greenheys Road and Sefton Park in the Princes Park area of the city, also sold for over £40,000 above guide price. In need of full refurbishment, the three-storey dwelling has been converted into 7 self contained flats and is described as being suitable as an investment property or for conversion in to a single dwelling, subject the necessary planning consents being obtained. It was guided at £140,000 and sold for £197,000.

A former bank building fronting Holland Place; close to its junction with Wavertree Road  near the Liverpool University Hospital was another lot that sold well in the room. Guided at £75,000, the redevelopment property sold for £96,500.

Cathy Holt, auction manageress at Sutton Kersh comments, "It was a very busy room and competition amongst bidders was high. There were a number of first time investors in the room looking for good deals that would generate better returns on their money than the banks are. The result and the atmosphere in the room are a good indication that things are picking up but I also think that this reflects the amount of high quality cheap stock that is available at the moment."

Sutton Kersh's next auction will take place on the 5^th April with the catalogue due to close on the 10^th March.