Are auctions the best option for sellers in Auckland?

Hit television show Our First Homes demonstrated that auctions are the best way for an Auckland seller to maximise the value of their property, according to Barfoot & Thompson managing director Peter Thompson.

Monday, April 20th 2015, 11:30AM

by Miriam Bell

In his view, auctions are the most successful method for selling a home in Auckland.

Around half of the properties Barfoot & Thompson list are up for sale by auction and Thompson says the method has a high rate of success.

For example in March, his agency sold 834 auction properties either under the hammer, or by 5pm the next working day. A further 142 were sold in the days post auction.

“It is a more reliable method than trying to judge the value of a property in isolation, and the transparency of what is ultimately a public negotiation means everyone can see how much other bidders are prepared to pay, and decide how far they want to go themselves.”

Thompson said this transparency also means that sellers by auction report the best satisfaction in price over other methods of sale.

“This is not just about the dollar figure achieved but also because vendors can have confidence in how that figure was reached.”

All of the TV programme’s three newly renovated properties last week sold for a price which reflected the market’s view of their worth, Thompson said.

“Despite their significant public profile, they were still competing with other properties in the area and in their price bracket.”

Thompson’s view is supported by the latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand data.

According to REINZ, in March 2015 almost 50% of Auckland’s sales were by auction.

REINZ chief executive Colleen Milne said Auckland posted a record number of auction sales in March, with almost one in two sales by auction.

“Our data shows that on a suburb-by-suburb basis auctions sell for a premium compared to other sales.”

Auctions are gaining in popularity throughout New Zealand, Milne added.

In March 2015, properties sold by auction represented over 25% of sales for the first time.

2,267 dwellings were sold by auction nationally in March. This was 25.8% of all sales and an increase of 604 on the number sold by auction in March 2014.

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