RawFacts Monthly – January 2017

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Auction Sales in January down 31.3% compared to last year.

RawFacts Monthly signals that January sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips were down 31.3% compared to 12 months ago. This follows a 39.2% decline in auction sales in December. Total auction sales last month amounted to $103.5 million (based on 4,295 lots sold) versus $150.6 million in January 2016 (based on 5,071 lots sold). Compared to January 2016, Christie’s reported a 41.6% increase in auction sales in January 2017 (from $17.9 million to $25.4 million), while Sotheby’s confirmed a 42.3% decline for the period (from $127.2 million in January 2016 to $73.4 million), largely due to a fall of 57% in the Masters Week sales.

Buyers happy to meet auction estimates.

During January 2017, 82.6% of the auction sales came within or above their pre-sale estimates, suggesting that sellers’ and buyers’ expectations were falling in line during the January auctions. This result is up from 75% in December.

Old Master Paintings and Drawings raise $46.5 million.

The Old Master Paintings and Drawings sector accounted for $46.5 million worth of sales in January 2017 (down 53.8% from January 2016). The second biggest market this January was Decorative arts and Furniture with $30.4 million in reported sales.

New York dominates sales in January.

Auction sales in New York at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips accounted for 81.4% of total sales, ahead of London with 10.4%. Hong Kong sales were up 19.4% from last year with sales totalling $7.6 million, or 7.3%, for January.