Gary & Leanne’s Journey

On the end of December 2013, I was engaged to bid at auction for two delightful clients.

There were limited auctions running on the day, but it was nonetheless a vibrant day for many agents and auctioneers in our final weekend before Christmas shutdown. And with 67 per cent auction clearance rates for the day, buyers were obviously still buying with gusto as well.

My clients had found their property and shortlisted it for all of the right reasons. The location was great – just a short walk to local shops and Ringwood East train station. The floorplan, internal quality and potential that the home offered was exciting for them, and the land size represented a solid family home or a great block to home to one day build their dream home on. But most importantly, we felt that it was likely to be within budget.

Knowing how vigilant they’d been on their quest for the home, I was prepared to pounce once they alerted me to 15 Miller Grove. The agents, however, preferred to continue the auction campaign and with an overseas vendor, plenty of apparent buyer interest and a date which was rapidly closing in, I gave up on the pre-auction offer ideas and we prepared for our day in the sun.

The small crowd started to gather and as the auctioneer’s assistant walked up and down the street with his bell, I was able to identify the three other potential bidders.
One couple with a baby in a stroller stood anxiously on the front lawn; clearly the most emotional of all of the crowd. Neighbours milled around and speculated about the price tag and the value it could place on their properties.

As the bidding started, two bidders jostled for first place in an effort not to miss out on going inside to negotiate.The reserve price seemed a distance away and the auctioneer did everything he could to get the bidding closer to the selling range. I stepped in as bidding stalled and with a series of final closers, he passed in the property to me. My anxious clients waited around the corner and I instructed them to remain available on their phone.

Now for any buyer’s advocate, an opportunity to negotiate exclusively on a pass-in is as exciting as it gets. The power does shift, however it’s always a delicate balance between securing the property at the reserve, negotiating a lower figure, or walking away. Walking away is something that I have threatened many a time but to date, I have never truly walked away from a passed in auction where I’ve had the exclusive right to negotiate with the vendor. This occasion was no exception, however I did have to bluff that I’d walk. With a quote range of “$495K+”, a passed in bid of $570,000 and a reserve of $600,000, I was not going to play ball at that level.

We negotiated our longer settlement terms, a five percent deposit, early access and a sale price of $585,000 within half an hour of backwards and forwards conversations, and my clients finally secured their dream home under budget. What a day, and what a great finale to the 2013 season.