As we close out 2025, I find myself in an unusual position, and that is having to admit that I too had underestimated the resilience of the UK property auction market. After years of telling investors that auctions represent the smart money’s playground, the data has arrived to make me look positively conservative.

The numbers don’t lie, so this is for those who love the stats. According to Essential Information Group (EIG) data, the 12 months from December 2024 to November 2025 saw £5.77bn change hands across UK auction rooms – a 4.9% increase on the previous year. That’s not a typo; that’s data from the people who record the auction market. Consider that in a market where the mainstream media spent most of the year declaring that the property market is dead.

November’s Exclamation Mark
If 2025 needed a full stop, November delivered an exclamation mark instead. The month saw 3,012 lots come to market with 2,035 finding buyers, a 67.6% (which could have been so much worse) success rate that tells only half the story. Year-on-year, lots sold increased by 17.8% while total funds raised climbed 16.3% to £450m.

The residential property sales drove this performance, which is usual as it forms the majority of the type of property sold at auction. Funds raised from residential lots leapt 28.4% compared to November 2024, with 1,780 properties finding new owners. Then we look to the three-month rolling figures, which paint an equally compelling picture: September to November 2025 delivered £1.76bn in sales, up an impressive 7% on the same period last year.

For those keeping score at home, the annual residential tally now stands at £4.68bn – a 7% increase that should make any traditional estate agent pause for thought.