Held in Belfast on Friday, the sale attracted around 500 people interested in a mix of property from retail and office investments, warehousing and residential development land, one third of which was located in Great Britain.

Prices varied from £250,000 for a retail unit in Newtownards to £7.3 million for less than a quarter acre of development land in Belfast city centre.

Highlights included £5.9 million for 2.87 acres of residential land at 142 Upper Road, Greenisland outside Carrickfergus equating to slightly over £2million per acre, while Ballymena Borough Council-owned greenhouses and nursery premises at 1.5 acres sold for £4.9m or £3.1 million per acre.

The Befast site attracting the £7m-plus tag was at Hope Street, a 0.24 acre lot with planning permission for a five-storey hotel, though co-auctioneer John Martin said the price appeared to be based on the site’s potential for high-density residential development.

“We always thought that this auction had the potential to be our best to date and we’re delighted with last Friday’s result,” he said.

“The total value of sales achieved in this auction is twice what we achieved in last October’s auction, which confirms in our mind that demand from clients and investors alike for disposing of and acquiring property by this method is actually increasing.”

Pointing out that lands or sites suitable for residential development accounted for 42 per cent of the total lots up for auction, he added: “There’s no denying that while we still had more properties up for sale, the balance has swung in favour of sites and lands designated for residential development, which is reflected in the headline prices achieved for sites right across Northern Ireland.

“Again, this is pretty much indicative of how buoyant this sector is at the moment.”