Property auction generates £82m in sales - commercial mortgages

28 March 2007

A recent property auction in Belfast generated £82 million worth of sales as local and visiting investors bid for a variety of properties.

Hundreds of bidders were present at the auction, held by Osborne King, which saw a variety of commercial properties go under the hammer. These included office and retail spaces in addition to warehousing and residential development land.

The success of the auction reflects high levels of interest in commercial property with prices ranging from £250,000 up into the millions. Co-auctioneer John Martin is pleased with the event, drawing confidence from the high level of sales.

"The total value of sales achieved in this auction is twice what we achieved in last October’s auction, which confirms in our mind that demand from clients and investors alike for disposing of and acquiring property by this method is actually increasing," he told Belfast Today.

An increase in commercial property acquisitions may signal increased commercial mortgages activity in the future as business are offered a wider variety of tenancy options.

Earlier this month, reports from CB Richard Ellis suggested that commercial property investors in the UK are among the most active in Europe, having spent some £10 billion on commercial property last year.