High value sales lead buoyant art and antiques market, survey shows

The art and antiques market remains buoyant, led by increased sales at the higher end of the sector, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Art and Antiques Survey published today (12 January 2011).

In the last three months of 2010, some 42% of chartered surveyors reported prices rose rather than fell in the £50,000 price bracket, that is up sharply from 20% in the previous quarter.

The figure, the highest since the second quarter of 2008, highlights the number of wealthy buyers investing in art and antiques as a tangible asset, rather than other forms of investment, says the report from RICS.

The All Lot price balance, which provides a snapshot of the overall arts and antiques market, stood at +24 and has now grown consecutively for the past two years. All price categories remain positive, however, prices increased in the mid and lower categories at a slower pace, +15 and +10 respectively.

Silver and jewellery recorded series highs, with 66% and 63% of surveyors reporting rising rather than falling prices in these categories respectively. These rises can be attributed to the ‘safe haven’ nature of investment in silver and jewellery, but also reflects the elevated prices that precious metals continue to command, the report says.

However, other sub-sectors did not perform so well. Oils and water colours were the only sub sector to record an overall negative reading, falling from +10 to -6%. The biggest falls for this sub-sector were recorded for lots worth £1 to £1,000. Books in this price bracket also suffered, decreasing from -3 to -23%.

Looking ahead, surveyors expect to see a rise in both demand and availability over the next 12 months, albeit at a slower pace than expected in the second quarter of 2010. With supply and demand set to be more closely aligned, the trend in prices may be a little flatter in 2011.

‘The art and antiques market remains a strong performer for buyers looking to invest in more tangible assets to guard against the uncertain economic picture. This is particularly clear in the increase in sales in the higher value brackets.

Traditional items such as silver and jewellery will always do well in difficult economic times, but Chinese art and ceramics are increasingly popular, particularly with Chinese buyers. The recent surge in prices in this sector shows absolutely no sign of abating with demand at an all-time high,’ said RICS spokesperson, Chris Ewbank FRICS.

‘Increasing sales from internet buyers illustrates that the internet auction platform finds more and more favour with remote buyers who never even come to the saleroom and make decisions to buy based entirely on images and condition reports,’ he added.