Have you ever been asked if you would like to travel back in time? Well, if I could go back to 1997 I might give it a go! Recently I was carrying out research looking through our auction catalogues for early that year.
We have just been successful in selling a commercial and residential investment in our March Auction at Gillingham for £595,000. The same property sold in our April 1997 Auction at a price of £98,000. Not a bad investment over the years!
So, what other attractions were available and being sold back then?
There was also a detached Victorian property divided into five flats and let at £19,000 per annum. This sold for £95,000.
In April a mid-terraced house in Gillingham in need of refurbishment would set you back £23,000 and a building plot for a nice, detached house in Faversham made £28,500.
A two-bedroom lower ground floor flat in Wickham Road, Brockley in Southeast London sold for £51,000.
A semi-detached house in Cedar Road, Strood went for £38,500. I suspect that you might now have to put a ‘2’ in front of that price for a sale today
However, the market was still recovering following an eight-year period of tight bank lending. Three self-contained flats in an attractive property on Margate seafront did not sell for £36,000. These flats were indeed sold in the following auction and the buyer was able to sell on two of the flats over the next couple of years to cover his initial expense and ended up owning the best of the three flats for nothing!
Come June, a large Kentish barn with planning permission for conversion into a residential property in Faversham sold for £37,000.
The most expensive property sold in the first half of 1997 was a residential development site with planning consent for five detached houses in Chislehurst, close to the railway station. It made just over £414,000.
So, returning to the modern day, we have just broken the record for the most valuable property which we have sold. A 14 acre plus commercial site in Purfleet, Essex – SOLD AT £5.4 MILLION. An amazing result. I think back in 1997 we would have been dancing in the streets if a whole Auction realized this amount of money!
So, from twenty-five years ago, it would seem to have been difficult to have bought a property that didn’t produce a good outcome. Rental income, capital growth, what more could you want?
Well, according to one long-term property investor
…. a lower Tax bill!
There’s no pleasing some people…
About the Author:
Sam Kinloch
Sam’s career in the dizzy world of property auctions began when he hung up his chainsaw and headed in from the forest. Joining the team in 2003 Sam now sits on the Board of Directors and has been instrumental in the adoption of online auction services. Out of the office you can find him flying around the velodrome or sipping coffee at a local café.