Annual auction report: over 5 billion euros in bids for 2024!

With the arrival of summer, it’s time for the Conseil des maisons de vente’s eagerly-awaited annual auction report: what’s the outlook for 2024?

Amid a gloomy geopolitical climate and modest economic growth, French auctions are thwarting pessimistic forecasts and displaying unfailing robustness. The annual report of the Conseil des Maisons de Vente (CMV) paints a rather positive picture : the €5 billion mark for auctions excluding fees has been passed for the first time, marking an 8.5% increase on 2023. The figures speak for themselves : €3 .7 billion worth of lots were sold via the Internet ( +8%), while €1 .7 billion went to foreign buyers. Professional demographics are also following this upward curve : with the creation of 33 new companies, the threshold of 500 auction houses has been passed – 510 to be exact, 20% more than in 2021. The number of vacancies is keeping pace with this expansion, rising from 6 ,986 to 7,211 . Ile-de-France alone accounts for a third of all auction houses, while Paris is home to 117 operators, or 23% of the total workforce, and generates almost two-thirds of the total amount ( €3 .3 billion). This ultra-concentration, far from being a hindrance to the regions, paradoxically stimulates their dynamism : the 339 provincial auction houses record average growth of 10.5% , three points higher than their counterparts in the Paris region. Finally, the charity sector also contributed to this measured euphoria, with €6 . 7m auctioned, compared with €6 .5m the previous year. Three houses shared two-thirds of this noble product: Rouillac leads the way, closely followed by Artcurial, while Nantes-based Couton Jamault Hirn completes the podium of generosity. However, far from being homogeneous, this fine mechanism conceals undeniable sectoral disparities.

Ile-de-France alone accounts for a third of all auction houses, while Paris is home to 117 operators, or 23% of the total workforce, and generates almost two-thirds of the total amount ( €3 .3 billion).

Vehicles: auctions go through the roof

The used vehicles and industrial equipment sector is on a roll, and continues its meteoric rise. After two consecutive years marked by leaps of almost 50% , 2024 saw an increase of 18.9% to flirt with the €3 billion mark. This prosperity is reflected in the ranking of auction houses (all sectors combined) : the top three positions are occupied by automotive specialists. Alcopa Auction, BCAuto Enchères and Enchères VO, with sales of €838 , 774 and 329 million respectively , relegated Christie’s to fourth place with €310 million. This reversal reflects a profound change : in 2022, the used vehicles and industrial equipment segment shared the cake equally with art and collectibles (46% and 48% of the total). By 2024, these proportions are reversed and diverge spectacularly. The lion’s share goes to the former, with 59% of total auction revenue, while the latter now accounts for only 36% : a billion-euro gap now separates these two worlds.

Also read Art Basel-UBS Report 2024: is the art market rebalancing?

Art and collectibles: contrasting trends

With an erosion of 78 M€, the art and collectibles sector continues the downward trajectory begun in 2023, albeit at a slower pace (4. 1% vs. 8.9% ). This contraction, painful though it is, needs to be put into context : the UBS/Art Basel 2024 report points to a worldwide correction of 12%. With a 7% share of the global market, France nevertheless retains its fourth place, behind the United States, the United Kingdom and China, relegated to third place. Behind the €1 .8 bn realized in this sector, a symphony is being played, with the first violins exchanging scores : Christie’s is back in first place, having overtaken Sotheby’s in 2023. Sotheby’s ( €213m) lost €81m ( -28% ), while Christie’s gained €57m ( +22% ) . Had it not been for the Sotheby’s debacle – which, by maintaining its 2023″ performance, would have prevented the sector from bleeding – the Art & Collecting balance sheet would even have turned green, with a slight increase of 3 M€. With the exception of this cross-over, the top 5 remains unchanged : Artcurial ( €128m) remains in third place (despite a loss of €35m), followed by Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr ( €75m) and Millon ( €52m). Two new faces joined the top twenty : Hôtel des ventes Giraudeau, which jumped from26th to19th place, and Daguerre, which made a spectacular comeback from70th to20th. These two outsiders grew by 54% and 160% respectively , reaching €11 million each . The Joué-lès-Tours-based auctioneer had distinguished itself with the sale of a ring adorned with an exceptional sapphire, “The Blue Star I”, which fetched €4 . 52m including fees, while L’Épave du peintre pompier Jean-Léon Gérôme had inflated Daguerre’s sails to sail towards €546,000.

Christie’s regained the top spot it had taken from Sotheby’s in 2023. The latter ( €213 million) suffered a loss of €81 million ( -28%).

Finally, within this large sector, market segments are experiencing contrasting trends. The main segment, arts and antiques, saw its value fall by 5.8% (after a 15.4% drop in 2023) to €1 ,057 million . While African art soared by 241% in value, antiquities timidly recovered : +2% for antique furniture and objets d’art (131 M€), +8% for paintings and sculptures from the19th century (119 M€), after respective losses of 43% and 18% in 2023. Conversely, contemporary art lost 226 M€ (- 9%), while impressionist and modern paintings and sculptures, as well as20th and21st century furniture and design, fell by 198 and 164 M€ (- 24% and – 25%). Collectors’ items (€338m) also fell by 3. 2%, and current sales by 4.1% . Ditto for wines and spirits (97 M€) : 2024 was not a great vintage, recording a loss of 11. 8% . By contrast, jewelry, goldsmiths’ and watchmakers’ sales rose by 5.1% to €269 million , reflecting a market that is turning to gold as a safe haven in uncertain times. To finish on a positive note, the equine sector continues to grow, reaching 274 M€ in 2024, an increase of 2.6% .

Read more
New trends in the art market. Les ventes aux enchères en France et à l’international en 2024, Conseil des maisons de ventes, Beaux Arts Éditions, 2025. Price: €19.