The Importance of Auctions in Covid Times
The considerable global upheaval of the last few months has been pretty mind blowing. There’s an unpredictability to life we would never have imagined in, say, February. But as Australians we’re generally a pretty positive bunch, with most of us taking a ‘glass half full’ approach to life. We’ve weathered the storm of the pandemic and we’re looking for ways to adept and prosper moving forward.
So as an industry, real estate has held relatively firm despite the challenges. We feel a big factor in helping quell any uncertainties has been the growth in the importance and dependability of auctions. Auctions have become a mainstay of real estate transactions during the times of Covid, with clearance rates showing good numbers. There are a few reasons for that.
Live offer systems and Virtual Auctions: The Technology Solution
Restrictions on public gatherings, social distancing, lockdowns… it makes it tough to get a bunch of people together to bid on a property. A few short years ago this would have sunk the auction market completely, but luckily today we have the technology to work around that. Auctions have gone completely virtual, from registering bidders, livestreaming the auction, bidding, exchanging contracts ad even paying deposits.
Times have changed and technology has allowed us to adapt. It looks like online auctions will be a significant feature of real estate sales as we navigate our brave new world.
Live Offer Systems and Auctions Help Determine the True Value of a Property
There are so many different ideas and opinions now about what properties are worth. Many of them are well-informed, some are nervous speculation, some are just hopeful thumb-sucks.
Covid has somewhat altered the relevance of past sales to the current value of properties. Agents have to really nail the balance of pricing the property right, while keeping the seller happy with what they’re getting. Price a property too high, it simply won’t sell. Too low and the seller misses out.
Many real estate agents have turned to the virtual auction system to combat this. Clearance rates are good and there’s confidence that the price achieved is the right one.
Live offer systems and Auctions Create Urgency
The conception amongst buyers is they have all the time in the world to make a move on a property. Why? Because they know a lot of people are sitting tight, with incomes that have been adversely affected by Covid.
An auction creates a deadline and injects a bit of urgency into proceedings. The time on market is generally shorter, so buyers know if they’re going to be in with a shout they need to act. This has contributed to the high clearance rates and the popularity of virtual auctions during these times.
Well there you have it. We do live in strange times, but there’s always a way to move forward in a positive and progressive manner. If you have any questions the importance of live offers or the outlook of real estate, get in touch with us here at Ristic.