New data reveals classic auction boost driven by enthusiasts

The latest update to the Hagerty UK Price Guide has provided a market overview of the first six months of 2021, revealing more cars are being sold and average prices have risen. The data shows the number of cars offered is up, with Hagerty having tracked 4,019 so far this year versus 4,666 during the whole of 2020. The sell-through rate is also up, from just over seventy percent to more than eighty percent so far in 2021.

In 2020, the average auction sale price was £38,984, but for 2021, that figure has already shot up to £45,648. What’s more, cars are selling much better against their estimates — this year, almost thirty-five percent of lots have sold for more than their top estimate, compared with just under eighteen percent in 2020. The number of cars selling for below their low estimate has fallen, documented as a shade under twenty-five percent (compared to almost forty percent last year). There have also been changes in the type of cars offered at auction, with the proportion of cars produced in the 1980s rising the most. To put this into perspective, last year, less than fifteen percent of cars offered were registered in the 1980s, compared to almost seventeen percent in 2021, representing the biggest gain per decade/era. Cars from the 1990s remain the most numerous at auction, accounting for eighteen percent of all lots. Meanwhile, evidence suggests most buyers prefer classics with potential for improvement, but shy away from those requiring restoration — ‘fair’ condition cars were most in demand, with sell-through rates at eighty-one percent. Restorations were the worst performing. “The popularity of ‘fair’ cars is notable,” comments John Mayhead, editor of the guide. “That these are so popular supports our view the recent sales boom has been generated by enthusiasts, rather than investors.”