The auction sale rate in September was 61 per cent, the first time in six months that it has broken through the 60 per cent barrier, according to the Essential Auction News report from EI Group.
Despite this news, the other figures tracked in the report weren't quite so positive.
The total number of lots offered for sale fell by -4.7 per cent to 4,104 during the month, although the three-month and annual levels remained virtually unchanged.
The number of lots selling in all three time periods – last month, last quarter, last year – fell by -16 per cent on the previous corresponding periods.
But the biggest downturn was seen in amounts raised, with September 2008 being a massive 42 per cent lower than a year before, at £302,576,557. A similar decline was recorded for the rolling quarter.
Looking solely at residential lots, the number offered was up by 2.6 per cent between July and September 2008 compared to the same time last year.
However, residential lots sold over the period dropped by -14.4 per cent; the percentage sold slid by -16.5 per cent; and the total amount raised fell from £966,002,615 in 2007 to £590,908,764 this year, a substantial drop of -38.8 per cent.
Regional Results
In England, the best performer in terms of annual increase in residential lots sold during the 3rd quarter was the North West, at -3.5 per cent.
The worst English region was East Anglia which recorded a fall of -34.4 per cent between July and September 2007 and the same period this year.
In Scotland, there was a -36.9 per cent decline, while Wales recorded a more moderate slide of -9.6 per cent.
Northern Ireland, meanwhile, saw a huge increase of 833 per cent, from just 7.1 per cent in Q3 last year to 66.7 per cent this year.
This, however, has less to do with an amazing performance and more to do with the low level of Northern Irish lots offered for auction.
Between July and September 2007, there were 28 residential lots offered for sale and only two sold, this year there were just six lots offered, of which four sold.
EI Group, who published Essential Auction News, seemed fairly upbeat despite some negative results: "Hopefully we are seeing the bottom of the market of auction sales in terms of lots sold and amount raised, though only time will tell over the next few months."
