March land auctions expected to follow the upward trend
As H&H Land & Estates prepare for their first auction of land in the new year, Director, Thomas Armstrong, suggests all the indications are that 2023 will pick up the rising trend in volume and value that made 2022 such a successful year for buyers and sellers.
"As we prepare for our first auction of land in the new year, I believe all the indications are that 2023 will pick up the rising trend in volume and value that made 2022 such a successful year for buyers and sellers.
Our Carlisle office ended the year with completed sales of 2,530 acres of farms and land with a total value of over £30 million, and we currently have a further £9 million of sales agreed and going through the legal process. That’s very much in line with the national market which saw land sales increasing again by 5%, and the average value of farmland rising by nearly 9% to its highest ever level.
The indications are strong, I am under the impression that the market is set to continue upwards in 2023.
We expect demand for land to continue to grow this year, and values should logically rise again accordingly. The situation in Ukraine has highlighted the value of productive land here in the UK, and the Government’s recent clarification on incentives for environmentally sustainable farming makes poorer quality land an even more attractive investment.
Our first three auctions of the year, being held in February & March, are also expected to continue the resounding success of our 2022 auctions.
There are three separate properties up for sale at our first auction of the year in South Lakes.
Rose Hill House at Stainton, Kendal will go under the hammer at 2.30pm with a guide price of £480,000. This offers a wonderful opportunity to purchase a delightful detached, period, house occupying a generous site, in an idyllic rural location in the sought after village of Stainton.
Following this, Branthwaite Brow will be sold at 2.45pm with a guide price of £140,000. This is a Grade II listed, commercial and residential premises, occupying a prime site in the heart of the market town within a conservation area, comprising a small, ground floor retail unit and a recently renovated, two bedroom ground and first floor apartment.
Finally at 3pm, we will bring to auction a residential building plot for a single dwelling at Bowfell Close, Storrs Park with a guide price of £250,000. This is a superb opportunity to acquire a site with outline planning permission to build your dream home!
Our second auction will be held over in County Durham at Honest Lawyer, Croxdale Bridge. We have an excellent opportunity to purchase an attractive block of grassland at Whitesmocks (Club Lane, Durham) extending to 11.76 acres (4.75 hectares) as a whole or in two lots. Lot 1 includes 6.28 acres of grassland with a guide price of £94,500. Lot 2 includes 5.48 acres of grassland with a guide price of £82,500.
The 750 acres of land sold by auction by our Carlisle office last year achieved sale prices 22% above the guide prices. So, our clients are choosing this option more and more, and we’re confident that auctions this year will deliver similarly successful results.
The five lots to be auctioned on March 15th include nearly 29 acres of grazing near Cockermouth with a guide price of £172,000, 0.25 acres of amenity/allotment land with a brick building at Warwick Bridge near Carlisle at a guide price of £25,000 and three plots of potential development land in Whitehaven expected to sell for well over £10,000 each.
This is an exciting start to what I am sure is going to be a very interesting year for land sales in the North of England, and we are already talking to potential sellers and working on a growing number of farm, farmland and amenity land sales we will be able to announce in the run-up to Easter.
At our North Lakes auction in March, six lots will go under the hammer:
With a highly specialised understanding of the property sector across the North of England and the Scottish Borders, we have a well-regarded reputation for selling all types of property across the region. As a leading agency, we have a well-established client base across offices in Carlisle, Cockermouth, Durham, Kendal, and Penrith".
If you are considering selling, get in touch for advice on methods of sale, recent sale results and valuations of land:
North Lakes (Carlisle) 01228 406260 | [email protected]
South Lakes (Kendal) 01539 721375 | [email protected]
North East & Yorkshire (Durham) 0191 370 8530 | [email protected]