London new-builds to be auctioned online for first time

Property auction house Allsop is planning the UK's first ever online-only auction for new build homes.

Flats in the second phase of the West Drayton Waterside development on the western edge of London will go under the hammer at 10am on Wednesday June 10, with bids closing from 10.05am the following day.

Buyers, says Allsop, will be able to track bids online, with zero risk of gazumping or gazundering.

"This new service provides a superior route of sale for new properties and will co-exist harmoniously alongside our traditional ballroom auctions," says the company's residential auction partner, Gary Murphy.

"We identified a niche specifically in the new build market and felt strongly that there should be a simpler, more transparent, fair, convenient and certain way of investing in new homes."

Compare mortgage rates

West Drayton Waterside is a canal-side development built by Clearview Homes, and is aimed firmly at buyers hoping to take advantage of new Crossrail services. It's just five minutes from West Drayton rail station, which from 2019 will provide a high speed link to Paddington, the West End, Liverpool Street, Canary Wharf and Heathrow. There's expected to be a lot of interest from buy-to-let investors.

"When presented with the opportunity to be the first developers we didn't hesitate," says Clearview Homes CEO Stephen Murphy.

"It is the perfect platform for our product which we believe will appeal to investors not just locally but nationally and even internationally. We know for sure that we will make sales on the day and achieve the best possible price."

Compare mortgage rates

While this is the first online-only auction of newbuild property, Allsop held a similar auction of resale property in Ireland earlier this year, which attracted more than 200 bidders and brought in over €6.85 million in property sales.

From the point of view of buyers, the auction has a lot to commend it: as Murphy says, they can at least count on not being gazumped. However, the competition will be fierce, with interest from investors around the world.

Flats in the new development range from one to three bedrooms, with prices starting at £249,000; interested buyers should register here. Allsop will have a live team available to give help at any point.

Read more on AOL Money:

How to buy a property at auction

'Britain's cheapest house' shocks at auction

Sneaky tricks to find property bargains