3. Know your buyers
Patrick Bright, real estate author and buyer’s agent for EPS Property Search says that a lot of buyers remain sceptical when it comes to the auction process and many will prefer to stick to property that is being sold with an asking price. These sorts of trends can give you an idea as to how to sell your property,” Bright explains.
“Buyers simply don’t want the financial outlay before auction day on expenses such as building and pest inspections and the legal fees associated with having the contract read on a property that may end up being priced way out of their league. Particularly if they don’t take the time or don’t have the time to do their research to understand the property’s current value.”
Rich Harvey, managing director of propertybuyer ™ says first home buyers and buyers that don’t enter the market too often are scared off by auctions because they create a very emotional and confrontational environment, where buyers feel exposed.
“People’s hearts start beating and the competition can turn buyers off,” Harvey explains.
“On the other hand the benefit of auctions is that they allow for price flexibility, and buyers and sellers both like this. It doesn’t peg price expectations and it allows the real estate agent to do what I call ‘test the market’, to say well the property could be worth $900,000 but it could be worth $1.5 million.”