We sold 54 of the 65 properties available at our October auction for £2.65 million; the best auction result on Merseyside this year.

The event took place on the 25^th October at the Marriott Hotel in Liverpool City Centre. Prior to the auction, 11 properties from the initial catalogue of 73 lots were sold, and 8 were withdrawn.

Residential properties once again dominated the auction accounting for 74% of the sales.

A two bedroom first floor apartment in Bowring Court, near to Bowring Park in L14, sold for £30,000 in excess of its guide price of £65,000. The property is currently let by way of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy at a rental of £7,200 per annum.. It attracted numerous underbidders before eventually selling for £94,000.

Lot 31, a three-bedroom property on Wingate Road in Aigburth also sold for more than expected. Guided at £90,000, it was sold with vacant possession for £110,750.

A 3-bedroom mid terrace property on Hallville Road in Allerton achieved the highest sale value. The property is located in a much sought after area off Allerton Road, and is currently let by way of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy at a rental of £7,800. It was guided at £140,000 and sold for £152,000.

Cheap vacant commercial units were also snapped up, with 14 out of the 17 available selling.

A 2,580 sqft vacant commercial unit on Fender Way in Prenton sold for 5 times its guide price. The  substantial two-storey building, which was formerly used as a youth centre, gym and hairdressing salon, was guided at just £10,000 and sold in the room for £51,000.

A vacant detached office building on Derby Road benefitting from an income of £9,500 from telecommunication masts sold immediately after the auction. The substantial building has a total net internal area of 4,536 sq.ft and 10year lease agreed with Telefonica UK Ltd for the masts. It was guided at £195,000 and sold post-sale.

Cathy Holt, auction manageress at Sutton Kersh comments, "Activity in the buy-to-let market continues to be buoyant as investors seek a better rate of return than is available through banks and other markets. Buying to sell now poses more risk. Investors who are cash rich, or using bridging funds, are buying distressed property to which they can add value to then obtain a mortgage as part of a refinancing strategy and retain the property more longterm to maximise their returns on investment. A high proportion of the properties included in our recent catalogue were in need of repair and modernisation, and having already identified this trend, we were optimistic about a good sale."