According to auction house Sutton Kersh Binstock (SKB), the number of properties being put up for auction has tripled since January.

In the first four months of this year the auction house has seen the number of property valuation requests rise from 50 to between 150 and 200 per auction, as vendors become increasingly frustrated with the open market.

Andrew Binstock, director and auctioneer at SKB, told PIN: “It is currently a buyers’ market and they hold all the cards, being able to demand the price that they want. Houses are on the open market for up to 10 months and vendors are finding that they are having offers pulled at the last minute more than once.”

When asked about the low numbers of properties that are currently being sold at some auctions, Binstock said: “The top auction houses are struggling due to the reserves being too high. The vendors that bring their properties to auction need to listen to the auctioneers and be more realistic with the price that they expect to get.”

Binstock then went on to discuss what is becoming a common tactic at auction. He said: “In the last 12 months there have been massive amounts of activity occurring post-auction. Buyers are finding that vendors are much more receptive to their offers post-auction, after their property has failed to reach its reserve.” Binstock pointed to the last SKB auction in Liverpool where 13 properties which failed to sell in the auction room then sold in the first 48 hours post-auction.