Tips to Make Auction Day a Success

Tips to Make Auction Day a Success

Auctions don’t just happen overnight. A lot of hard work and effort goes into presenting a home for auction and aiming for a fantastic result on the big day. Here's how you can ensure your auction day is a success:

Preparing for Auction Day

You’ve put in a lot of work to get your home ready for auction. You’ve:

• Presented your home beautifully
• Set a date
• Researched and set a reserve price
• Run a marketing program
• Held open houses
• Liaised with potential buyers
• Provided contracts

With all this effort, you want auction day to go smoothly and yield a great sale result. Here’s some helpful advice for the big day.

Know the Regulations

Each state has its own rules for how auctions are run. It’s crucial to be aware of your state’s specific regulations to ensure everything goes according to plan.

Final Public Showing

Just before the auction, there’s usually a final public showing. This is the last chance for potential buyers to have a look around. During this showing, the agent will display legal documentation regarding the property and the auction.

In most states, potential buyers must register before the auction starts to receive a bidder’s number. There are substantial fines for any illegal auction conduct, so it’s important to understand and comply with all auction laws. Disrupting the auction, making false bids, or bidding as a non-genuine buyer is illegal.

The Auction Process

When the auction starts, the auctioneer will invite registered bidders to make an opening bid. While the auctioneer may suggest a starting bid, it’s entirely up to the bidders to decide their initial offer.

Most properties have a reserve price that must be met for the house to be sold. Once this reserve price is reached, the property is considered “on the market” and will be sold to the highest bidder.

Typically, the highest bidder must immediately provide a 10% deposit, with the balance due at settlement. There is usually no cooling-off period when a property is sold at auction.

If the Reserve Price Isn’t Met

If the bidding doesn’t reach your reserve price, the property will be “passed in.” The highest bidder then has the opportunity to negotiate with you to see if a mutually agreeable deal can be reached. Often, a property that is passed in will sell through negotiation on the day or within a few days after the auction. (For more details, see our separate post on what to do if your house is passed in at auction).

What Not to Do

• Don’t get too emotional or stressed on the day.
• Don’t interfere with interested buyers.
• Don’t have friends bid to drive up the price.
• Don’t disclose or talk about your reserve price to anyone.
• Don’t be unrealistic with your reserve price.
• Don’t fold under pressure. Set your boundaries and limits for the lowest offer you’ll accept.

Welcome Home

At JKL, we’re here to support you through every step of your auction journey. Our experienced team will help ensure your auction day is as smooth and successful as possible.

Experience our JKL real estate family. We’ll put the welcome mat out for you!