If you’re looking for a new home, you may feel like you have looked everywhere to find your dream house - but have you ever considered a property auction?

The popularity of housing auctions in Wales and elsewhere in the UK is rising, with figures from online property auction house My Auction reporting a 24% increase in money raised through house sales over the past year (to May 2022).

So why should you consider buying a house through auction?

As an auction is done in real-time, you hear the bids for the property at the same time as everyone else - so you have an equal opportunity to make a counter-bid. It also means that everyone is up-front with their intentions, so you don’t have to wonder whether or not your bid will be successful, as you find out immediately.

According to My Auction, property sales through auction are completed in an average of four weeks, while private treaty sales can take up to 18 weeks to complete.

With auctions, buyers have the opportunity to pay less than they would in a private treaty sale, as the winning bid only has to be higher than the bid that came before it.

All legal and tenancy information about a property is made available to the public and potential bidders before the auction, meaning that you have the option to find out everything possible about the property.

Any kind of property can be taken to auction, from homes and apartments to commercial properties like shops and hotels.

There are plenty of auction houses across Wales, such as Auction House Wales and All Wales Auction, and other property for auction in Wales can be found online. Among the hundreds of properties on the market right now are a pub in Gwent, a church in West Glamorgan, and plenty of residential houses.