AUCTION RESULTS - bidding wars see £21m raised

Clive Emson Auctioneers: properties for auction in February

A commercial property used for educational purposes in Kent, pictured, has gone under the hammer with Clive Emson Auctioneers for £1m.

Ripple Down House in Dover Road, Ringwould, Deal (lot 50), generating a licence income of £33,324 pa, was among 177 lots listed in the firm’s February auction covering southern England and in Scotland.

James Emson, Managing Director, said: “We’ve had a strong start to the new year, with more than £21m sold for clients and a success rate of nearly 70%.

“A number of bidders would have had their eyes on the stamp duty increases from April.

“Ripple Down House, where we instructed by trustees to sell the premises, was among the 177 lots listed which caught the attention of property investors, with various lots going for far in excess of guide prices as interest hotted up.”

A bidding war saw 160 bids for another commercial building in Kent - New House Youth & Sports Centre, Chalkwell Road, Sittingbourne (lot 91) - went for £766,000, which was £266,000 above guide price.

Also in Kent, a resident property in High Street, Queenborough, with creek moorings at the back, fetched £276,000 (lot 130) from a guide price of £220,000-plus.

In East Hampshire, a detached house in a secluded location overlooking woodland near Bordon sold for £433,000, which was £93,000 above guide price and drawing 86 bids. Masada is a three-bedroom property at Beech Hill, Headley Down (lot 164).

In St Austell, Cornwall, a fire-damaged former school owned by Cornwall Council went for £262,000 off 76 bids (lot 56), having started at £45,000.

The local authority also disposed of former public conveniences in Penryn, near Falmouth, with £28,000 paid off a start of £7,000, with 22 bids (lot 140).

With a south-facing Juliet balcony, a two-bedroom flat in Richmond, Surrey, sold for £339,000 (lot 69) from £270,000, with 69 bids. There is a 125-year lease from 1982.

A building plot, in the heart of Brighton’s city centre and with planning consent for three flats, was acquired for £135,000 (lot 25). It is on the Vogue Gyratory, just off Lewes Road.

A detached chalet-style home in Ventnor, Isle of Wight, with sweeping sea views, was bought for £65,000, which was £35,000 above the guide price following 34 bids – a landslip last year affected the gardens and surrounding land (lot 101).

The next auction of eight this year by Clive Emson Auctioneers concludes on 20 March, with bidding live 48 hours beforehand.

Lot entries close on 24 February, with the catalogue online from 27 February.