A Tale of Two Auctions

Last weekend two auctions stood out from the rest and we think its necessary to unpack them for our reader’s interest.

Both properties were auctioned on the same day within hours of each other.

Auction (A) was an inferior location; the home was smaller, older and lesser value than its comparison. Both properties were marketed sufficiently with similar budgets and the same length of campaign.

So why did one sell for in excess of $50,000 of the other? And why was it, the property out-selling the other was inferior in location and a home of perceived lesser value?

Auction (A) out performed auction (B) hands down.

The obvious difference was that auction (A) was advertised as ‘mortgagee in possession’ - auction (B) was marketed directly towards a target audience.

To understand this further we must dig deeper – can we surmise, that the reason auction (A) achieved a much stronger result was a direct reflection of the sellers circumstance?

The headline ‘Mortgagee in Possession’ activates the human emotion of wanting a bargain – and what happens when 20 bargain hunters get in an environment where they have to compete for the ‘bargain’? Competition! And competition equates to premium prices.

To go one tier further – we think, the deeper reason the market responded so well to auction (A) was because both the seller and agent just ‘knew’ it was going to sell on the day. This belief is passed on to the ‘market’ and the market responded.

For us the observation is clear - when seller and agent are aligned with the belief of selling – the market is forced to respond.

All the best,

The Auction Group