How much does it cost to sell a property at auction? A guide for UK property owners. How much does it cost to sell a property at auction and how do the sale costs compare to an estate agency sale? Find out about the costs for selling your house or flat at auction and how to save money by passing some of your costs to the buyer.
How much are property auction fees?
Selling a property at auction costs less than most people think. The total cost is about the same you would expect to pay a traditional high street estate agent. There are 3 costs to consider when selling a property at auction:
- (1) COMMISSION - The auctioneers commission is around 2% to 3% + VAT of the final sale price and that's only paid when the property successfully sells.
- (2) ENTRY FEE - Most auctioneers request an upfront catalogue/entry fee of around £300 + VAT or more, but it may be possible to postpone payment until after the property has successfully sold.
- (3) AUCTION LEGAL PACK - The seller's solicitor is responsible for preparing the auction legal pack at the cost of £200 or more, which is payable before the auction.
Passing your auction sale costs to the buyer
A key benefit of selling at auction is the complete control the seller has over the contract of sale, there's no input from the buyer. This means the seller can dictate terms like the completion date, responsibilities of the buyer after exchange and any extra costs to be paid by the buyer.
By adding a simple clause to the contract of sale it's possible to pass all (or part) of your auction costs and legal fees to the buyer, in fact it's standard practice for regular auction sellers (e.g. property traders, banks and local authorities). Some buyers will not bid as high for the property if they spot the clause in the legal pack, but others will not worry.
Negotiating sales commission with the auctioneer
The starting rate for an auctioneer's commission is typically 2% to 3% + VAT and that's only paid when the property successfully sells. So if a property sells for £200,000 the commission payable to the auctioneer at 2% would be £4,000 + VAT.
You can save money by passing costs to the buyer. And some auctioneers offer a no sale no fee service.
For higher value or particularly saleable properties the auctioneer might be prepared to reduce their commission, but there is a lot of organising and marketing that takes place for the auctioneer to be able to justify their fee.
Auctioneers usually charge a minimum selling fee of anything from £1,500 upwards, so if a low value property (such as a garage) sells for £10,000 the 2% commission rate will not apply, otherwise the fee would only be £200. Instead the auctioneer will charge the minimum selling fee.
TIP: Compared to some of the newer methods of selling, such as paying an online estate agent a fixed fee, selling a property at auction may seem relatively expensive. So it's worth a quick cost benefit analysis to see if auction will pay off for you.
How much does it cost to prepare the auction legal pack?
The auction legal pack is crucial for the successful sale of a property at auction, it contains all the legal information (e.g. land registry documents, deeds, searches, property information questionnaires, lease documents, tenancy agreements etc) relating to the property. So the more information there is in the legal pack the more confident prospective buyers will be when bidding on auction day. It's therefore important not to cut costs when preparing the legal pack as it may adversely affect the final sale price. Costs for preparing an auction legal pack for a freehold property can be anything from £200 upwards. For a leasehold property the cost of obtaining the management information pack from the freeholder/landlord will add another £200 or more.
Most of these legal costs are not unique to selling at auction. When selling through an estate agent or privately the seller will also need to prepare legal documents for the prospective buyer. It's only the searches (local authority search, water search etc) that are obtained by the buyer in the case of an estate agency sale, but by the seller in the case of an auction sale.
Who pays for the survey?
We're occasionally asked whether the seller needs to include a survey report for their property in the auction legal pack. The survey report is NOT the responsibility of seller. There is no expectation for a survey report to be included in the auction legal pack.
Many of the buyers at auction are cash buyers, so will not require a survey. However, if the buyer does require a survey, they will need to have sorted that out (and seen the report) before bid on auction day. With an unconditional auction sale, the buyer is bidding to buy - full stop! They're not bidding to buy subject to contract or survey.
Costs for selling a house by auction?
Request a free valuation and auction sale cost estimate for your property today. In some cases we may need a few more details about your property before providing a free and no-obligation auction sale estimate.
Free EstimateCosts for cancelling or withdrawing from auction
If you've booked your property into auction, but then have a change of plan, you may be liable to paying the auctioneers withdrawal fee if you decide to back out of the auction sale. Auction withdrawal fees vary, but can be as much as the full commission rate you would have been liable to pay if your property had successfully sold.
It's worth noting that if you signed the auctioneers' terms remotely (i.e. not in the auctioneers office) there will usually be a 14 day cooling off period. However, since the timescales for selling at auction are very quick, the auctioneer might ask you to tick a box on the auction contract that waives your right to cancel, in order for them to commence their service immediately, and begin marketing your property as soon as possible.
Other costs to consider when selling a property at auction
As with selling a property through an estate agent or privately, there are other costs to be considered when selling a property, they include; legal fees, moving costs and taxes that might be due. For example capital gains tax on buy-to-let properties and inheritance taxes for probate sale. Also consider whether any early redemption penalties might be due on your mortgage or secured loans. These are all payments your solicitor will be able to help you calculate when determining your bottom line sale price i.e. your reserve price.
If the property doesn't sell at auction there will usually not be any costs or obligations to the seller, unless stated in the auctioneers terms.
Are there any costs to pay if a property fails to sell at auction?
Just like selling through a traditional high street estate agent, the auctioneers commission works on a "no sale no fee basis". So the sales commission is only payable when the property is sold and contacts are exchanged, without that happening the auctioneer won't charge their fee. If a property fails to sell the only costs incurred by the seller would be their legal fees (for preparation of the auction legal pack) and any entry/catalogue fee that may have been paid before the auction.
Cost benefit analysis - is it worth selling at auction?
With so many low-cost online estate agents to choose from, does an auction sale provide value for money? Apart from the speed and reliability an auction sale offers, from a purely financial perspective, is it worth it? Can you achieve a higher sale price at auction compared to any other method of sale? The answer depends on the type of property being sold, some properties sell for considerably more at auction compared to estate agency sales due to two key features of auction; competition and transparency.
Competition
Property developers, amateur DIYer's and ambitious owner occupiers will compete to buy a property at auction in the knowledge they'll be able to refurbish it cost-effectively and either sell on for a profit or live there themselves. The key word being compete. In an auction environment, where the price can only go one way (up) it's the competitive bidding environment that drives the price up.
Transparency
In a closed/private sale environment, such as an estate agent sale (also known as a "private treaty" sale) the estate agent has a high level of influence over negotiations. If after a few months of marketing a property the estate agent tells the seller that £100,000 is a fair price, the seller will probably be inclined to accept an offer around that level. By keeping the property in the hands of one or two estate agents the sale lacks transparency.
In fact, a highly lucrative market exists for property traders who purchase problem properties through estate agents one week and flip them at auction the next week - the properties are sold for considerably higher prices as "properties with potential" in the transparent and competitive bidding environment that's found at public auction.
Ready for auction?
Request a free valuation and reserve price estimate for your property today. In some cases we may need a few more details about your property before providing a free and no-obligation auction sale estimate.
Free EstimateQuestions and Answers
Do properties sell for lower prices at auction?
Some types of property are particularly well suited to sale by auction; properties in need of modernisation or with potential are ideal for auction and will achieve a higher sale price at auction compared to an estate agency sale. But properties with their potential exhausted will usually sell for more by private treaty (estate agency) sale, unless the property is unique or in a very good location, in which case the top price may be found through competitive bidding at auction.
What happens if an auction property doesn't sell?
Most properties do successfully sell at auction, it's considered the most reliable method of sale. If bidding doesn't reach the reserve price on auction day your property will be made available as an unsold lot. The auction company will contact all interested buyers and ask for their best and final offers. If a property doesn't sell first time around it can be entered into a subsequent auction, that might be 4 or 6 weeks later.
What costs are paid upfront and after an auction sale?
The costs for selling at auction works out to be about the same as using a good high street estate agent. Commission at around 2% to 3% + VAT if the final sale price is only payable on successful sale. Some auctioneers charge an upfront entry fee of £200 to £500, but this can be negotiable and only payable after sale.
How quickly can a property be sold at auction?
Legal exchange of contracts can take place within 3 to 4 weeks, with completion of sale a further 4 weeks later. Timings are flexible; if a seller needs to complete sooner or later, they can ask their solicitor to shorten or extend the completion date.
How do you find a good local property auctioneer?
There are hundreds of property auctioneers in the UK. The best suited auctioneer for your property will depend on the property type and location. Looking at the past auction results (usually available on the auctioneer's website) can be a good starting point to short list a suitable auctioneer.
Popular auction resources
- Guide to selling your house at auction
- Risks and disadvantages of auction sales
- Frequently asked questions
- Online property auction sale costs
- Request an auction sale price estimate
Next steps...
Why not request a free pre-auction appraisal for your property? It only takes a few seconds. Or feel free to call us on 0800 862 0206 if you have any questions.
UK Property Market Update: July 2026
The UK housing market has settled into a cautious summer. The acute energy shock that unsettled forecasters in the spring has eased (wholesale prices have fallen back from their Middle East peak, though they remain higher and more volatile than before), but the effect on borrowing costs is still working its way through. Prices are broadly holding, activity has thinned, and the buyers who are active are taking their time and negotiating hard.
All eyes are now on the Bank of England's next rate decision on 30 July. The Bank held Bank Rate at 3.75% in June, but the vote was finely balanced and a small but growing group of economists think the next move could be up rather than down. Until there is more clarity, sentiment is likely to stay subdued.
House prices and activity
Headline prices are still just about in positive territory, but growth has all but stalled and the gap between regions has widened. Zoopla put annual growth at 1.4% in June, while the lender indices are softer still: Halifax had prices up just 0.5% over the year in May (a typical home at around £298,800) and Nationwide 1.7%. The north continues to outperform, with the North East (+3.1%) and North West (+3.0%) rising, while the South East (-2.1%) and London (-1.5%) are falling.
Beneath the headline, activity has cooled markedly. Zoopla reports sales agreed down 7% year on year, buyer demand down 15%, and three in five homes listed since January still without a buyer. There is simply a lot of choice: stock is near an eight-year high, partly because landlords are selling up. Both major forecasters have turned more cautious. Savills now expects prices to fall 2% across 2026, having previously pencilled in 2% growth, and Knight Frank has trimmed its 2026 forecast to 1.5%. Both still expect a recovery over the medium term, but the message for sellers this summer is clear: price to today's market, not last year's.
Interest rates
Interest rates remain the pivot point. The Monetary Policy Committee held Bank Rate at 3.75% on 17 June, voting 7 to 2, with the two dissenters wanting a quarter-point rise to 4%. That split shows how uncertain the outlook has become: where the market began the year expecting cuts, roughly 40% of economists now expect at least one increase before the year is out. The next decision comes on 30 July. Energy prices have come off their recent highs, which helps, but the Bank has been clear that it is more worried about inflation becoming embedded than about supporting growth.
Inflation
Inflation is the reason for the Bank's caution. CPI held at 2.8% in the year to May, a shade below expectations and well down from the peaks of a year ago, helped by easing food and household-energy costs. But the detail is less comfortable: transport inflation jumped to 6.8%, its highest since 2022, driven by fuel, air fares and vehicle excise duty. With energy prices still volatile, few expect inflation to fall much further in a hurry, which is exactly why a summer rate cut looks unlikely.
Mortgages
For borrowers, the picture is mixed but slowly improving. Average fixed rates have edged down: the typical two-year and five-year fixes now sit at around 5.5%, and the most competitive deals for buyers with larger deposits have dipped back towards the low-to-mid 4% range. That is a meaningful improvement on the spring, but rates remain well above the levels most people locked in at a few years ago, so anyone coming off a fixed deal should budget for higher payments and speak to a broker early.
What does this mean for property auctions?
August is traditionally the quietest month of the year for property, and the auction calendar reflects it: most of the established “on-the-day” auction houses do not hold a sale in August, with the ballroom auctions resuming in September. The online and rolling-auction platforms carry on through the summer, but if you are planning a traditional auction sale it is worth lining up your September catalogue entry now.
What has not cooled is appetite for the right lot. Even in a hesitant market, competition remains fierce for the classic “auction gold”: the worst house on the best street; the run-down, unmodernised or unloved property in a genuinely good location. These are the lots that draw builders, developers and investors into a bidding war, and they frequently sell well above guide. Refurbishment stock in strong postcodes is as sought-after as ever.
Landlord disposals also continue to feed the auction room. With Section 21 “no-fault” evictions abolished from 1 May under the Renters' Rights Act, many landlords are choosing to sell with tenants in place rather than navigate the courts, and auction is the natural home for a tenanted lot, where portfolio buyers bid competitively for a property that comes with an income already attached.
For everyone else, the appeal of auction in a slow market comes down to speed and certainty. A private-treaty sale through an estate agent can take around five months from offer to completion, with the ever-present risk of the buyer renegotiating or the chain collapsing, and nobody wants their sale falling through in the run-up to Christmas. At auction the sale is legally binding on the fall of the hammer: contracts exchange there and then, and completion follows within a matter of weeks. In conditions like today's, that certainty is worth a great deal.
The message for sellers is the same as ever, only more so: realistic pricing wins. A well-presented lot with a sensible guide will still attract strong bidding and exchange on the day. Sellers holding out for the mood of early 2025 are likely to be disappointed, but those who price to today's market continue to achieve excellent results.