Amid the frantic bidding at a central London property auction, a woman watched helplessly as her home of 20 years was sold from under her. 'That's my house,' she shouted, but the auctioneer pressed on, eventually hammering the three-bedroom north-west London property away for over £400,000. 'A little bit late, madam – it’s been sold,' he announced.
The scene at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms illustrates the harsh realities of the UK housing crisis. Some 300 properties from across England and Wales were listed, including a boarded-up home in north-east England with a guide price of just £1. Many were repossessed or sold by debt-laden housing associations. Repossessions now account for more than 20% of the auction market, with 14,025 mortgage repossession orders in England and Wales in 2024, the highest in five years.
Property auctions are big business, with nearly £5.9bn worth of stock sold in 2025, up from £5.5bn in 2024. 'There will be repossession properties coming through on a weekly basis at auction,' said Alex Greaves, a buying agent at Ridgestone Property. He noted an 'uptick' in repossessed properties in central London, though not a flood of distressed assets from regular homeowners as seen during the financial crash.
High-quality homes are increasingly appearing at auction. 'If you have a Picasso, where would you sell it? You would take it to auction,' said Liam Gretton, an estate agent in Wirral. Among the lots were a one-bedroom basement flat in Pimlico that sold for over £450,000, a four-bedroom townhouse in Wapping for £800,000, and a Devon bungalow for £327,500. A buyer’s premium of 2%-5% is typically added.
Interest among young people and first-time buyers is rising. Alice Helps, 26, bought her 'dream home' in Somerset at auction last April. 'Where I live, I couldn’t afford a sparkly new-build,' she said. 'So having a renovation project was a good way to get on to the housing ladder.' Greaves recently helped a first-time buyer secure a flat and has seen other clients keen to engage with auctions for family homes in areas with good schools.
