Agents rush to switch Sydney auctions from online to on-site ahead of restrictions being eased

Homes set to go under the hammer in Sydney this Saturday are hurriedly being converted from online to on-site auctions after the partial lifting of some of the restrictions on the sale of real estate.

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Some agents and sellers are scrambling to switch remote auctions earmarked for May 9 to on-site the same day, while others are cancelling the online auctions and postponing the date of the on-site replacement for two to three weeks, to enable new sales campaigns. Others are investigating doing a combination of both.

“This is great news,” said Oxford Agency’s Matt Marano, who was due to auction a three-bedroom, semi-detached terrace in Surry Hills online on Saturday, May 9. “We’ll now be conducting the auction on the same day, at the same time, but actually onsite at the house instead.

“It’s much better as buyers can see what they’ll be buying, and can obviously have much more of an emotional attachment to a property.”

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Auctions have been held virtually in NSW since March 25. Photo: Peter Rae

The NSW government announced at the weekend that, with the easing of the COVID-19 crisis, the ban on on-site auctions and open homes would be lifted from this Saturday. Strict social distancing rules and regulations around hand sanitising stations will remain in place, and most will only allow registered bidders into auctions.

With the number of listings falling, clearance rates slumping to their lowest level in 15 years and prices dropping since the changes first came in on March 25, real estate agents throughout Sydney have welcomed the news as the first signs of the start of a return to normality.

Ercan Ersan of Ray White Erskineville was due to auction two properties online on Saturday, in Newtown and in Camperdown, but will now be conducting both on-site instead – as soon as he’s received the official go-ahead from the Real Estate Institute of NSW.

“There’s a reason we like to do auctions on-site instead of online,” he said. “An on-site auction is much more transparent for both buyers and sellers. For a buyer, you’re at the property so it’s tangible and for us, the agents, we can ready the body language of the people bidding and make sure it runs more efficiently.

“And for sellers, there’s nothing better than being in their home and seeing the bidders and hearing their bids and watching the process. That helps them understand, and come to terms with, the price, especially if it’s more or if it’s less than they expected.”

As a result, Mr Ersan will be auctioning a three-bedroom, as-new architect-designed house at 33a Pearl Street, Newtown with a price guide of $1.5 million, as well as a two-bedroom townhouse at 3/1 Cardigan Lane, Camperdown, expecting around $1 million, both on-site on Saturday.

For all his other properties, from Saturday he’ll be going back to physical open homes “as soon as we can!”

Across town, Mr Marano will be auctioning 89 Goodlet Street, Surry Hills, expecting around $1.5 million, while Theo Karangis of NG Farah is investigating switching his online auction on Saturday for an apartment in Maroubra to be both on-site and online.

“We have one potential purchaser who’s still reluctant to physically come to an auction,” he said of the sale of 6/62 Marine Parade. “So it would be great if we can do both at the same time on Saturday.

“But there’s a chance we might delay it too, as we’ve had limited access to the property as the tenant didn’t want too many people through, which I can understand. That way, we could have more people view it.”

Other agents are similarly circumspect, converting their online auctions to on-site but with a delay. “This will give us the opportunity to run the kind of sales campaign we originally envisaged,” said Shabina Kamal of Raine & Horne Neutral Bay.

She’s setting the on-site auction date for a three-bedroom, circa-1900 home, Jacinta, at 128 Coonanbarra Road, Wahroonga, two or three weeks after its online sale date on Saturday.

“We thought it’s better to give it a bit more time, given that it’ll be easier now for inspections too,” said Ms Kamal. “We’ll treat it as a fresh new campaign, in a sense, which will give the owner a feeling of satisfaction that we’ve given it every chance.”

While open homes will come back into operation from Saturday, social distancing could restrict the numbers allowed through to five or 10 groups within an allocated time.

Most agents, however, are also ready to keep allowing potential purchasers to make private appointments. “We have one or two happier to do that than open homes,” said Mr Marano.

In other states, more rigorous regulations prevail with on-site auctions and open homes still banned in Queensland, although inspections with up to six people were permitted from May 1. In Western Australia, up to 10 people are allowed to attend open homes.

article by domain.com.au