More people turning to auction

The number of properties being appraised for auction has tripled since January, according to auction house Sutton Kersh Binstock.

Andrew Binstock, director and auctioneer at SKB, believes one of the main reasons more people are putting properties up for auction is they are getting increasingly desperate due to the current state of the housing market. He said: “There has been a huge surge in the number of valuation requests for properties in 2008. Normally we would expect to receive around 50 for any given auction. We are our now receiving between 150 and 200 per auction”.

Binstock added: “Part of the problem is that many estate agents are over valuing properties because vendors are often unwilling to accept that the property has fallen in price. This has resulted in deals falling through all the time – leading to piles and piles of properties on our desks”.

Binstock advised those considering buying a property at auction to attend one beforehand in order to see how the process works. He also cites having a 10% deposit at hand as a must when intending to bid on a property.