Some sellers believe that selling via auction does not achieve a sound market-related price, but this is a misconception, says MC du Toit, chief executive Auctions and Sales for BidX1 South Africa, an online property trading platform.
Du Toit says the online auction method enables the entire process to be completely open and transparent, but without impacting on the price in a negative manner.
“On the contrary, via this platform, and by providing a reserve price, a seller indicates to the market the price he or she is willing to accept in a worst case scenario. This affords buyers the opportunity to compete in order to acquire their preferred property, while at the same time sellers are able to achieve a market-related price for their properties.”
He says BidX1 South Africa finds sellers are open to this platform, which allows bidders from around the country and even globally to compete for the property at exactly the same time, and enables the selling price to be negotiated up instead of down, as is the case with traditional property sales.
“When listing a property at an inflated price, sellers may be eliminating an entire group of buyers as this may be beyond their limits. With our online auction method, sellers are educated about how to adopt a far more aggressive pricing strategy, especially in the current market, but then to include the potential upside to this as a result of using our trading platform and the competitive nature of serious buyers.”
Du Toit says all properties are suitable for this method of sale as it enables all sellers - irrespective of the reason for selling - to present their property to the market and ask buyers the question: “What is the best non-suspensive offer that you, as buyers, are willing to offer me in the current market?”
He says: “By disclosing all the facts, sellers are likely to achieve the best result, particularly as the auction method serves to create competition which, in turn, drives prices up.
“It follows, therefore, that to establish what the best possible price for your property will be, it is advantageous to tell buyers what you are willing to accept and be honest about this price, then allow them to decide what they perceive to be a fair, market-related price. Given the access to extensive online property information, today’s buyers tend to be well-informed regarding property values and what represents good value. This tends to translate into online auctions being a win-win for both parties on the day.”
For details about BidX1 South Africa’s online property auction on July 3, see https://bidx1.com/en/news/buying-property-south-
africa-bidx1s-digital-platform or email [email protected] - Impti du Toit