New data from online auctioneers BidX1 reveals a significant shift in buyer behaviour across the UK property market, with 30% of active buyers ready to complete a purchase within the next two months. This marks a notable move towards faster, more decisive transactions, suggesting that parts of the market are now operating at a very different pace from traditional sales channels.
While much of the current property reporting remains focused on house prices, mortgage rates, and affordability pressures, BidX1’s findings highlight a parallel trend that is going largely unreported: buyers are changing how they behave. They are actively seeking faster, more certain routes to purchase, and they are prepared to move quickly.
- 30% of buyers are ready to transact within two months, significantly faster than the UK’s average time-to-complete of up to five months via private treaty.
- Buyers are now prioritising speed and certainty over the traditional drawn-out sales process.
- Online auctions are gaining traction not just with investors but with private buyers who want a streamlined, transparent route to purchase.
“This is a real structural shift in the UK housing market,” according to Stuart Collar-Brown, Head of Client Acquisitions at BidX1 and President of NAVA Propertymark.
“Buyers increasingly expect property transactions to mirror the speed and transparency of other consumer experiences. The traditional, often protracted, private treaty process, which can take 16 to 20 weeks as a minimum, no longer satisfies much of the market.”
BidX1’s close partnership with Foxtons demonstrates how online auctions are allowing independent estate agencies to diversify their offering and drive their sales forward. In the last 5 years, Foxtons have sold 952 properties in their partnership with BidX1, which is over £445 million in property sales. This not only provides their clients with strong sales outcomes, but it means that the auction team at Foxtons are one of their top-performing sales teams. BidX1 sees its partnership model, which provides independent agencies with an auction channel, growing as more agencies realise the value for their clients and their businesses.
Jonathan Fenn is the CEO of BidX1 and says, “These results show that there is a substantial cohort of buyers who are willing and able to complete the full transaction within a timeframe of 6-8 weeks.
“This segment of the market is active but underserved; there simply aren’t enough channels for them to access opportunities and transact efficiently. Auction is one such option, but we have opened a new avenue via our auction-hybrid model, which has been so successful with Foxtons.
“More and more estate agents are partnering with online auction platforms to provide a sales route that matches the pace that today’s buyers are demanding. Those who adapt will thrive. Those who don’t risk losing motivated buyers to more agile channels. Our auction-hybrid model is 2.5 times quicker for a seller than the average London private treaty sale.”
Online auction platforms still remain a relatively new model. Their strength is that they offer a fully transparent, secure, and time-bound sales process, providing the speed and certainty that buyers increasingly want. Unlike the traditional private treaty route, online auctions lock in a committed buyer and this eliminates common issues like gazumping, renegotiation, or last-minute withdrawal.
Online auction models support estate agents and sellers looking to capitalise on this behavioural shift without sacrificing price transparency, security, or market reach. As buyer expectations continue to evolve, digital auctions are becoming less of an alternative and more of a mainstream solution for agents, sellers, and buyers alike.
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