Nearly £21m raised at final auction of the year

After attracting huge attention, there was fiercely competitive bidding for a 16th century cottage with a £1+ guide price at Bond Wolfe’s December auction.

The Grade II-listed High Heath Cottage, on Withy Hill Road near Sutton Coldfield, built by Bishop Vesey to house servants in the 1530s was sold for £257,000.

It was one of 145 lots sold from 155 offered, a 94% success rate, in a livestreamed auction that raised a total of £20.8m.

Gurpreet Bassi, chief executive of Bond Wolfe, said: “We knew we had an unusual property with High Heath Cottage, but we were overwhelmed with enquiries following intensive media interest in the history of the lot ahead of the auction.

“The result was a sale for more than a quarter of a million pounds for a property that is full of character but is basically in disrepair, although there is development potential, subject to planning permission.

“The 94% success rate of lots contributed to an outstanding amount of nearly £21 million raised in what was our final auction of 2022 – a result that gives us lots of confidence for next year.

“Yes, there are challenging economic and market conditions ahead, but throughout 2022 we have seen our auctions continuing to outperform the industry average, with impressive prices gained from bidders across the UK and overseas.”

Other highlights included a sale price of £902,000 for the former Sparkhill Methodist Church at 40-46 Warwick Road, plus the separate Flat 2a Madeley Road to the rear, which had a guide price of £495,000.

Bidders also competed for a former maternity home converted into 10 self-contained flats at The Grange, 42 Park Hill in Moseley, a Victorian property that originally had a £750,000+ guide price but was sold for £1m.

Competition was also strong for a pair of town centre retail properties with redevelopment potential at 52, 53A, 53B, 53C Lower Hall Lane in Walsall, sold on behalf of Walsall Council for £230,500 from a guide price of £175,000.

A nearby block of three retail units at 57, 57A, 57B Lower Hall Lane were also sold on behalf of Walsall Council for £230,000 from a guide price of £45,000.

Other Black Country properties sold included two neighbouring four-bedroomed, terraced houses at 57 and 58 Mount Street in Walsall which went for £120,000 each, after both had original guide prices of £91,000.