Activity in the UK property auction market picked up in November, with both the number of properties sold and the total value of transactions rising sharply compared with a year earlier, according to data from the Essential Information Group.
National auction sales volumes increased by 17.8% year on year, while total funds raised were up 16.3%, pointing to improving momentum as the market heads towards the end of 2025.
The figures suggest buyer demand has strengthened despite higher borrowing costs and a subdued wider housing market.
Residential property continued to provide the backbone of auction activity, recording double-digit growth in receipts and accounting for the bulk of the uplift in overall performance.
ACTIVE BUT SELECTIVE BUYERS
Commercial auctions were weaker on the month, although this was driven more by lower prices achieved than by any significant fall in demand, indicating that buyers remain active but selective.
Performance varied by region, though results were broadly positive across much of the country. Southern England and the Midlands recorded growth in funds raised, supported by an increase in supply coming to auction and steady levels of buyer engagement.
Scotland also saw a notable improvement, with higher clearance rates translating into stronger turnover.
“Elsewhere, conditions were more mixed.”
Elsewhere, conditions were more mixed. The North East of England and Northern Ireland continued to lag, with reduced volumes and softer success rates weighing on overall performance.
In other regions, activity was relatively stable, with results close to last year’s levels and only modest movements in either direction.
FIRM APPETITE
David Sandeman, Managing Director of the Essential Information Group, says: “With the final auctions of 2025 now underway, attention will turn to whether current levels of demand can be sustained through to year end, particularly as larger catalogues continue to come to market.
“Early indications suggest buyer appetite remains firm, supporting the expectation that overall results will finish ahead of last year.”
SALE CERTAINTY
Stuart Collar-Brown, President of NAVA Propertymark (National Association of Valuers and Auctioneers), says: “It is extremely encouraging to see a year-on-year uplift in the auction profession, with the results for residential auctions particularly positive.
“This growth has come despite continued uncertainty surrounding the Autumn Budget and the anticipated measures it may have introduced.
“Auctions give both buyers and sellers speed and more importantly, certainty of sale which is one of the reasons why we have seen the growth in our sector this past 12 months.”
GAINING TRACTION
And he adds: “Now that the wider anxiety caused by the Autumn Budget has eased, it would be a welcome sign if figures from December 2025 onwards show that auction sales continue to gain traction, reinforcing auctions as a trusted and effective method of selling a home, especially in more challenging circumstances.”
