RawFacts Monthly – March 2017

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Auction Sales in March up 433.8% compared to last year.

RawFacts Monthly signals that March sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips were up 433.8% compared to 12 months ago. This follows a 64.3% decline in auction sales in February. Total auction sales last month amounted to $1,220.4 million (based on 9,211 lots sold) versus $228.6 million in March 2016 (based on 9,589 lots sold). Compared to March 2016, Christie’s reported a 417.9% increase in auction sales in March 2017 (from $125.6 million to $650.3 million), while Sotheby’s confirmed a 426.4% increase for the period (from $103.1 million in March 2016 to $542.6 million). The majority of the sales growth is due to the rescheduling of the major February sales in London to March this year.

Post-War and Contemporary art raise $376.7 million.

The Post-War and Contemporary sector accounted for $376.7 million worth of sales in March 2017. The second biggest category this March was Chinese and Asian art with $354.3 million in reported sales.

Christie’s has leading market share.

Christie’s has kept a leading market share although it has dropped from 54.9% in 2016 to account for 53.3%. Sotheby’s was also down from 45.1% in 2016 to 44.5% last month while Phillips saw an increase of their market share from 0% in 2016 to 2.3% in March 2017.