Some people in property spend months acquiring a single asset, refurbing it, and deciding whether to flip or hold. Oliver Adams works in reverse. For him, success is built on speed: getting in, executing, and getting out without hesitation.

By the time he stepped into property trading full-time, he had already spent 20 years working as an auctioneer. That experience shaped how he sees property today: as something to understand, price correctly, and move decisively. It is one of the reasons he has now bought and sold more than 650 properties.

From auctioneer to full-time property trader

Auction rooms reward speed, judgement and emotional control. Those same traits sit at the core of Oliver’s trading approach today.

After two decades as an auctioneer, Oliver had seen thousands of deals succeed and fail in real time. He understood how quickly sentiment can shift and how dangerous hesitation can be when money is on the line. When he moved into property trading full-time, he didn’t have to learn how to assess value or risk, he already had those instincts.

What property trading actually is

Property trading can be misunderstood, especially by those who come from a buy-to-let or investment background.

Investors think in long horizons. They are focused on capital growth, rental income, yield and steady cash flow over time. Traders think in cycles. Entry price, margin and exit matter more than ownership. Capital is not meant to sit still; it is meant to move.

Oliver operates firmly within that trader mindset. His goal is not to accumulate property, but to repeatedly create profit and redeploy capital. That distinction is fundamental to understanding how he is able to complete over 100 transactions a year.

The numbers only make sense when the system does

Last year, Oliver completed 152 property deals. This year, he is already at 116. Those numbers sound extreme until you understand the structure behind them.

High volume doesn’t come from working longer hours or chasing every opportunity. It comes from narrowing criteria, removing emotion from decisions and building systems that support repetition. Each deal is assessed quickly, executed efficiently and exited without attachment.

At that level, discipline is not optional. Cash flow has to be actively monitored, risk has to be managed in real time, and mistakes are exposed fast.

Why sourcers are central to scaling

Rather than spending his time hunting endlessly for opportunities, he works with experienced property sourcers who understand exactly what he is looking for. When deals complete, they are paid referral fees for their work. One sourcer alone has earned £240,000 in referral fees through Oliver’s business.

This also underlines an important reality: sourcing, when done properly, is not a side activity. It is a viable route into the property industry in its own right.

If you want to hear more from sourcers, take a look at this playlist on YouTube.

How it’s done

In this Property Developer Show episode, Oliver Adams goes deeper into how deals are stacked, how cash flow is managed across dozens of live transactions, and which skills genuinely matter if you want to operate at this level. He also speaks candidly about how people can get started, whether as traders themselves or as professional property sourcers.

If you want to understand the thinking behind the numbers, the full conversation is essential viewing.

Property traders vs property investors

Some people are built for long-term investing. Others are wired for speed, decisiveness and momentum.

Oliver Adams sits firmly in the second camp. His results are not easily replicated without the right mindset, systems and discipline. Understanding that difference is valuable in itself, whether or not you ever choose to trade.

Learn more about Oliver’s journey with property trading here.