Buyers who are uncertain about what to do in an auction room are sweeping out the competition after getting tips from one the country's leading auctioneers.
Auckland auctioneer Shane Cortese, who also presents the hit TV show Dream Home Dilemma, says the weekly sessions he is running to teach bidders winning auction strategies are working a treat, as demonstrated by two of the winning four buyers at a recent Harcourts Cooper and Co auction on the North Shore.
Cortese says: “We tell them to go in with their front foot. We invite them to watch some of the auctions where they can implement those tips and it just gives them a confidence boost."
One of the session attendees got to practice the techniques, and win the auction, for a property in Browns Bay. He was a father who was buying a property for his son to live, and they secured it for $739,000 on the night.
Start your property search
Four bidders participated in the auction for 771 Beach Road, Browns Bay, Auckland. The opening bid at $620,000 came from the eventual new owner, who bought the place for $39,000 over the CV.
Cortese says that one his key tips is to not be hesitant and place an opening bid for the desirable property.
“They took everything on board and now they own the property,” he says.
Another pro tip is to throw off the competition in the auction room by placing irregular numbers as bids.
“People tend to work up in fives and tens [of thousands], but if you place $3500 or $1700 it will throw the other buyer off as they start to re-working their plans for the next bid. The auctioneer has the opportunity to accept it or not, but it tends to work,” Cortese says.
Four out of ten properties were sold under the hammer, while another four were presented with offers immediately following the auction. A further 13 properties are scheduled for auction on Sunday.
Cortese says in the first week of school holidays the activity was not as high as a few weeks back.
Well-presented stock with over three bidders sells regardless, but some sellers are not getting what they were expecting at the auction.
However, waiting for the market to change is not the wisest move, Cortese says, as house prices don’t tend to go backwards.
“It’s human nature to think prices are going to go down if you’re buying and think they are going up if you are selling.
“But at the time, that’s your premium price as it’s unconditional and gives you certainty in uncertain times.”
