AT A TIME when some inner city real estate agencies are shy of conducting auctions for apartments, one Melbourne office has just cleared 100 per cent of their auction stock in the last two months.
Ray White Southbank | Port Phillip principal Andrew Salvo (pictured above) said most agents are fearful when listing apartments for auction as they believed units were not traditionally sold this way.
“Open for inspections can be a lonely 30 minutes and an onsite auction can be awkward and embarrassing when the auctioneer is calling the auction to very few people. Other people believe that inner city apartment auctions lack atmosphere,” Mr Salvo said.
But not this office. Not only did this Ray White office sell 100 per cent of its auction stock over the last two months – some 16 units for a combined sales total of $8,448,333 – they can boast an average days on market of 27.5 days.
Mr Salvo said auctioneering via an in-room style was the secret to their success.
“The auction process cuts through the awkwardness. It is a fun night with multiple auctions and a full room of people. There is genuine tension and mystery in the air. That’s the atmosphere that successful auctions need,” Mr Salvo said, of his group’s auctions held at their office at 111 Clarendon Street, Southbank.
He said there was some “nervousness when we decided to move forward with a heavy auction focus in what is a largely private sale market”.
“But we are now in love with the process and the pressure it puts us under to achieve maximum results for our vendors quicker,” he said
“We get so much efficiency out of this process as we can fully utilise weekends to get as many people through properties as possible.
“We simply have more time to prepare buyers on weekends so they can purchase property mid-week.
“When it comes around to our usual Wednesday or Thursday evening time slot, the whole business is geared up for a fun night of auctioning properties.
“We have our salespeople, administrators, receptionists and property managers trained and on deck ready to help.
“Whether it be welcoming and registering guests, entertaining vendors, preparing paperwork, all are there to help.
“This creates tremendous support that we wouldn’t be able to leverage from on weekends without having to pull resources away from showing properties and assisting buyers.”
“The energy of the night is truly amazing, it feels like a company wide surge that gets the deals done rather than it all being on the shoulders of one individual.
“The sales agents feel the support and helps them push harder knowing they have company wide support behind them.”
Mr Salvo said this support and confidence created a culture where his team were prepared to challenge themselves and push the boundaries in this traditionally difficult marketplace.
“We vouch to keep innovating, to create the ‘new normal’ and work harder than the rest of the market. I think this is the main secret to our success, more auctions certainly means we have to work harder and more efficiently in a quicker time frame,” Mr Salvo said.
“We are clearing stock within 27.5 days via auction in a market that is used to sales occurring in 100 days and above.”
Ray White Victoria and Tasmania CEO Stephen Dullens congratulated Ray White Southbank on their fantastic results for their vendors.
“Across Victoria, Ray White consistently call more than 20 per cent of the auctions in the state. We invest significant time and resources to ensure this process is as successful as possible, where we know that a strong auction campaign will result in lower days on market and stronger results for our vendors. ”
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