Property auction sales on rise as Glasgow firm hails record £5m month

A Glasgow property auction house has pointed to rising confidence levels after registering a record month of sales.

Prime Property Auctions notched up sales completions with values totalling £5 million in February. The figure is double the previous highest sales figure for a month - £2.5m in September - while the volume of sales also hit a record monthly high of 40.

The strong performance saw 28 residential units sold across Scotland and England, including a property in the Borders for more than £300,000, and one in the Highlands for some £250,000.

Prime Property Auctions co-owners John Morris and Luis Guarin.

Commercial units including a public house in Fife and a large portfolio of 22 properties in Lanarkshire were also sold by the Glasgow-based firm.

Company bosses John Morris and Luis Guarin attribute the milestone month to an increasing confidence in the firm’s business model, pointing to the number of higher-value properties which clients are asking them to sell.

Morris said: “It has been a very positive start to the year which is encouraging. People’s confidence in buying and selling at auction is definitely on the rise and the service levels which we provide have resulted in a really strong February for us.

“We have a good team behind us and thanks to the reputation we have built, both buyers and sellers are happy to come to us.”

Operating throughout the UK, the firm’s recent sales have also included five pieces of land as well as vacant properties north and south of the Border.

Morris added: “Higher value properties are selling well at auction, not just the lower end stock.

“Both Luis and I are property investors and trained surveyors and we have trained our team to not only understand investment metrics, and how to value properties for auction in order to get them sold, but also how to deal correctly with all the enquiries.

“Our focus is on building that momentum by increasing the number of listings we have while at the same time maintaining the customer service which has got us to this position.”