A few weeks ago I wrote about an auction where a significant number of lots failed to sell. At the time I was careful not to overstate it. One weak auction can be explained away, a thin "room", poor lot selection, a blip in the calendar. I said we needed to watch for a trend rather than call it a one-off. The data since then has sharpened considerably, and I think it is time to say clearly what it appears to be showing.

Welcome to The Property Auctions Podcast. I’m Dominic Farrell, author of the UK’s No.1 bestselling book about property auctions, Property Auctions: Repossessions, Bankruptcies and Bargain Properties (4th Edition March 2026).

One of my mentees who is a complete novice to both property investment and auctions, bid live online yesterday at an auction in London. She did the research, formalised her thoughts, we identified the reserve and the maximum bid, and off she went. In this case, the seller was not accepting pre-auction offers, which is our preferred option in this current market.