Property auction brings in £4 million from 'confident' Sheffield buyers

More than 90 per cent of the lots at Mark Jenkinson and Sons’ sale at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane were snapped up – a result partner and auctioneer Adrian Little called ‘very strong’.

The standout property was Spitewinter Farm, a home and outbuildings set in almost 10 acres of land near Dronfield.

Advertised as an ‘outstanding’ restoration or development opportunity in a ‘superb’ rural location on the edge of the Peak District National Park, the farm also has 1.48 hectares of established woodland.

The potential clearly appealed to buyers, and bidding took the sale price to £770,000 from a guide of £600,000.

But Mr Little said: “It wasn’t just the farm result which was good. A lot of the others were selling well, and for more than anticipated.

“It’s the whole feel of the room. It was extremely busy, very buoyant, and no hint of caution.

“But it was a good catalogue with some very good lots in there. I’m sure that made an impact. It was better than we thought.”

He added: “It’s showing that confidence is there. It’s very much a barometer of what’s happening in the marketplace, and its a fair reflection that the market is there and people are still buying despite all the doom and gloom in the headlines.”

A four-bedroom semi-detached home on Abbeydale Road South fetched £323,000 – towards the higher end of what auctioneers predicted.

Beech Villa, a detached stone-built home on Camborne Road, Birley Carr, which needs complete refurbishment and has a knotweed problem, sold for £156,000.

Mr Little added: “It was a mixture of buyers. A lot of smaller local builders and individuals who are buying projects to take on with a view to refurbishing to sell or let.

“There were some where people bought them to live in – the farm, and possibly Abbeydale Road South.

“You have got private individuals with money behind them to do it up and live in it themselves.”

Among the commercial sales was a property on Cross Street, Woodhouse, that houses a butcher’s shop, along with residential space, for £234,000.