SDL Bigwood’s first auction sale of 2017, held on the day Doris struck, went down a storm!

At the Holte Suite, Aston Villa, it raised £14.7 million with a success rate of 84 per cent.

Gurpreet Bassi, partner and head of auctions for the Midlands, said: “The crowds were happy to battle their way in despite the wind, so much so that the room was busier than I ever seen it, to the extent that on health and safety grounds security were operating a ‘one in, one out’ policy on the doors.

“At one point, we were considering moving the auction to the football pitch!”

Properties from Bridgend to County Durham were snapped up.

All the lots offered on behalf of Birmingham City Council sold as did ground rents and garages.

Pubs which found buyers were the Huntsman, 356 High Street, Harborne, with planning permission for demolition and redevelopment into 14 apartments, £670,000 off a guide of £645,000, Victoria Works, 33 Redditch Road, Studley, £250,000, while the Hawthorns, 162 Ross, Rowley Regis, sold prior to auction.

Birmingham City Council lots, a former community centre at Weoley Castle Square, Weoley Castle, guide price, £150,000, sold for £282,000, while the former Bell Heath Outdoor Educational Centre, Quantry Lane, near Belbroughton, guide price £500,000, went for bang on the money.

Land adjacent to 164 St Margarets Road, Ward End, sold for £75,000 off a guide of £10,000, land adjacent to 95 Staple Lodge Road, Northfield, made £87,000 off a guide of £25,000 and land adjacent to 176 Portland Road, Edgbaston, hit £75,000, guide price £15,000.

Arcadia Mews, 1a Dale Street, Smethwick. a purpose-built block of eight apartments, gross income £44,100, sold for £510,000 off a guide of £410,000.

A Grade II Listed former care home dating back to the 19th Century, 133 Handsworth Wood Road, Handsworth Wood, sold for £810,000 off a guide of £525,000.

A freehold mixed use investment, 526a, b and c Hagley Road West, Quinton, comprising two shops and a large flat, sold for £297,000 off a guide of £190,000.

A former workshop and offices, 7 Walsall Street, Wednesbury, was knocked down for £65,000 off a guide of £30,000.

As usual, houses proved a hit, with 374 Fox Hollies Road, Acocks Green, a three-bedroom semi-detached, proving the most popular lot in the auction with over 300 viewings. It sold for £225,500 off a guide of £90,000.

Three bedroom homes included 181 Burnaby Road, Coventry, sold for £115,000 off a guide of £50,000, 11 Mayswood Road, Wootton Wawen, £267,000 (£150,000), 144 Quinton Road West, Quinton, £147,000 (£82,500), 47 Westfield Road, Kings Heath, £205,000 (£95,000), 8 Kingswood Road, Moseley, £88,000 (£33,000), 71 Park Lane, Wednesbury, £117,000 (£75,000), 4 Sandhills Lane, Barnt Green, £235,000 (£150,000), and 10 Waltham Grove, Kingstanding, £103,000 (£55,000).

A two-bedroom end terrace, 7 Morton Close, Coventry, sold for £115,000 off a guide of £49,000, 40-43 Gravelly Hill, Erdington, a pair of semi-detached properties, sold for £356,000 off a guide of £250,000, and Flat 16, Moorland Court, 42 Melville Road, Edgbaston, was purchased for £71,000 off a guide of £25,000.

And 11 out of 11 County Durham properties in the auction found buyers.

“It really was a great day,” said Mr Bassi. “We and many of our vendors were extremely happy with the results.”

The Birmingham sale was the second leg of a hat-trick of SDL Auctions last week – the others being Chester and Derby – which raised over £20 million.