1st Quarter Auction Review 2018

• Analyst:
• Pages: 18
• Access: Analyst

Auction sales shows steady growth in Q1 of 2018

Overall auction sales by Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips grew by 6.5% in Q1 2018 amounting to $1.62 billion compared to $1.53 billion in 2017. This follows on a 25.1% increase in auction sales for the full year of 2017 compared to 2016.

London and Hong Kong gain market share whilst New York and Paris experience a decline in sales

First quarter sales in London was up 25.8% from 2017 across all three auction houses and its market share grew from 56.7% in 2017 to 66.9% this year. Hong Kong also saw its market share increase from 0.8% in 2017 to 10.8% in 2018 on the back of growing auction sales that were up a staggering 1,332.8% compared to the same period last year.

Average auction price in Q1 2018 up nearly 20% from last year

The average auction price per lot sold in the first quarter this year was $105,424 compared to $88,474 for the same period last year. This represents a 19.2% increase in the price paid for each auction lot across the three auction houses globally.