The number of commercial properties sold at the latest Allsop auction was at its lowest for three years, the auction house has reported.
The auction is seen as a key barometer of the health of the UK commercial property market and many property lots went unsold. Of 166 properties which went under the hammer, including shops, banks and warehouses, no buyers were found for 50 of them. Sales of properties at the auction generated £61.6 million.
The unsold lots included a former wine shop in London, a Liverpool warehouse and a Hereford charity shop. The sales rate at the auction was just 69.9 per cent, the lowest since 2008 when Lehman Brothers collapsed, followed by commercial property values.
The previous auction held by Allsop took place in July with an 82 per cent sale rate, which was in keeping with previous averages.
Duncan Moir, an auctioneer at Allsop, told the Telegraph that the recent auction results were “a clear indication that the market has adjusted". He said the auction house had witnessed a "pricing disconnect" between buyers and sellers after a "difficult" summer for the economy and property market.
