Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by The Negotiator. Read the original article for full details.
Auction Sales Rise in 12 of 13 UK Regions as Flats Take Larger Share
The UK residential auction market is broadening, with EIG's latest Property Auction Insights reporting growth in sales, changing patterns of residential stock and significant regional differences. Sales increased in 12 of the 13 regions in the first six months of 2026, while flats are taking a larger share of the market.
Flats reach record share of auction sales
Quarterly flat sales have broadly doubled since 2021, and flats accounted for 27.2% of residential auction sales in the second quarter of 2026, the highest level across the period analysed. Flat sales were 18.1% higher than in the second quarter of 2025, with increases recorded across 11 of the 13 regions in the first half of 2026. Yorkshire & The Humber recorded the largest percentage increase at 29%, followed by London at 27.6%.
Price appears to be a factor in their appeal: almost half of flats sold at auction in the first six months of 2026 went for below £100,000, 60.6% for less than £150,000 and 79.2% for less than £250,000. EIG notes that lease length, service charges, ground rents, cladding, building safety requirements and major works can all affect buyer appetite and mortgageability, but auction can provide a route to market for properties that may be harder to sell through conventional channels.
Regional growth, with Wales the exception
London recorded the strongest growth among the larger markets, with sales up 24%, followed by Yorkshire & The Humber and the North West, both up 12%. The South West rose 11% and the North East 10%. Scotland recorded a 21% rise, though from a much smaller base, while Wales was the only region where sales fell, down 8%.
Some 37% of residential auction sales in the first half of 2026 were below £100,000, 58% below £150,000 and 81% below £250,000. Average sale prices ranged from £55,000 in the North East and £65,000 in Scotland to £325,000 in London, although most averages are down slightly on the same period in 2025.
Tenanted properties remain part of the mix
Tenanted properties accounted for 10.2% of residential auction sales in the first six months of 2026, compared with 9.9% in the same period of 2025 and 13.3% in the first half of 2024. EIG says it is still too early to assess the longer-term impact of the Renters' Rights Act on auction activity in the private rented sector, but auction remains an established route for landlords selling with tenants in situ.
Stuart Collar-Brown, President of NAVA Propertymark, said the report reflects how auction has firmly established itself as an important part of the property market, offering sellers speed and certainty and buyers access to a wide range of property.
Source: The Negotiator