Lots to keep buyers happy at auction

Howkins & Harrison’s last property auction of the year has taken place at Sketchley Grange Hotel in Hinckley (pictured).

A packed saleroom resulted in spirited bidding and a fast-paced auction, with guide prices exceeded for all lots sold in the room.The change of venue seemed to suit bidders and there was a confidence in the air with strong interest in all of the lots on offer, being a mixture of development opportunities and agricultural land.The first lot under the hammer was a single building plot at Warton, near Tamworth, with planning permission for a two bedroom bungalow.Competitive bidding between two parties resulted in the hammer falling at £105,500, in excess of the guide price of £80,000 - £100,000.Lot two, 15.13 acres of pasture land at Harborough Magna, Rugby, was up with a guide price of £120,000 - £140,000.After a slow start, bidding came thick and fast and the hammer fell to a local farming family 45 per cent above the guide price, at £201,000.The third lot was another block of farmland, 32.16 acres at Stapleton, near Hinckley.This larger block saw quick bidding from the start and finally went to a local farmer for £355,000, 18 per cent above the guide of £300,000.Lingfield Farm, near Nuneaton, comprising 20.66 acres of land with planning permission to create a fabulous new farmhouse, did not find a buyer under the hammer but with interest in the property and bidders there on the night the agents are confident that a deal will be struck in the near future.Overall this year Howkins & Harrison have sold £3.21m of property under the hammer, with a 95 per cent success rate including post-auction sales.The firm has been selling property by auction since 1888 and is now planning a series of sales at the new venue for 2018.Partner James Collier said: “We plan to use the new central sale venue to hold our collective property sales, which previously have been split between two venues.“The new venue is easily accessible, just off junction 1 of the M69 at Hinckley, handy for buyers and sellers from across the Midlands.”The firm is inviting lots for sales in 2018, to include land, building plots, houses and commercial property.