How to have an all-smiles, stress free auction. Picture: Richard Walker
Nerves, heart palpitations, sweating and worrrying may be what comes to mind when you think about bidding at auction.
But one lucky home seeker managed to be involved in Australia’s easiest and quickest auction.
On Saturday morning, a Redfern unit at 66/249-259 Chalmers St was sold under the hammer by auctioneer Tom Panos – and it was over in all of 45 seconds.
She was the only registered bidder. Instead of choosing to pass the auction in and go into negotiations – a right of passage when there aren’t enough bidders – Mr Panos decided it was still worth it to do the auction.
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“Watch how it’s done,” Mr Panos said in the video.
After quickly running through the legal procedure, Mr Panos asked the bidder what her bid was.
SEE HERE:
“$1,050,000 says the lady in the charcoal jacket,” he said.
After confirming with the agent, Duncan Gordon from Raine and Horne, if they were happy to sell – which they were – the home was sold to the bidder within 45 seconds.
“It’s the fastest auction I’ve ever been a part of and ever heard of,” Mr Panos said.
When asked why he decided to go on with the auction, Mr Panos said it was to make the buyer and seller feel at ease.
“What made me do the auction is that one of the things I’ve learnt is that people are very stressed at an auction, the buyers are stressed about how many people they’ll be bidding against, so what I’ve found is that transparency works really well,” he said.
“I actually went up to the buyer and say ‘hey I want to let you know that you’re the only people that are registered – I want to give you the heads up,’ and buyers really appreciate that.”
Mr Panos told the bidder roughly where the property would be priced and then they went on with the auction.
Tom Panos auctioneering. Picture: John Appleyard
“I think that after you’ve got rid of the legal requirements once that’s done it’s unnecessary for an auctioneer to spend 5-10 minutes promoting the property.”
“Those that are interested they’ve been (to the home) at least once they’ve looked online, they’ve dwelled on it, they don’t need an auctioneer to say here’s the bedroom and kitchen – it’s stressful as it is.”
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He said being transparent with prices was also key to a smooth auction.
“Let people know what to expect, remind them the legislation and the rules.
“Don’t have the buyer and the seller in the dark, if they do that then the transactions are seamless.
“If you have buyers expecting $100,000 less or a vendor $100,000 more because the agent isn’t educating the vendor … it’s negligent of the agent.”
To make an auction a smooth, stress free day, Mr Panos said agents should have pre-auction meetings with buyers.
Auctioneer and Real Estate expert Tom Panos says being transparent is the best way to ensure a smooth auction. Picture: John Appleyard
“(Tell them) if the price guide has changed over the month of the campaign, what are the vendors expectations, how many people you will be competing against, if the vendor will reduce the deposit amount (and) changes to the settlement.”
“These are things I suggest the agent reaches out about in a pre-auction meeting, but even if its not a meeting, buyers should ring up and ask the agent.”
Mr Panos said that if you’re in business, you’re in show business.
“I actually think that humour is a good thing at an auction, bit of comic relief to take the stress off. They’re out on their weekend – so if you can, add some entertainment.”
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