EIG welcome tips on key aspects of Property Auctions
Publish Date: 04 January 2018
By Beth Fox
Further reading
5 Success Strategies for making money when buying property at auction
A welcome introduction from EIG Managing Director - David Sandeman
Getting started with EIG
Firstly, thank you for taking the time and trouble to read this. I am sure you will find it useful and that it will enhance your value in using the EIG site and give you a better understanding and view of the property auction market.
Warm regards, David Sandeman
Key differences between Auctioneers and Estate Agents
Estate agents quote an asking price, a price at which the vendor would generally be prepared to sell. Auctioneers quote a guide price which is only an indication as to where the reserve is set not a reflection as to what it will necessarily sell for (visit guide prices explained).
The vast majority of estate agent stock is modernised and vacant whereas the vast majority of auctioneer stock is unmodernised with 25% being tenanted.
Estate agents offer property within a very tight radius of their office (just a few miles) whereas auctioneers work over a much wider geographical area. Several London auctioneers cover the whole country. This means that you can't rely on just following your local auctioneer to monitor your local market.Estate agency stock is often on the market for some while, whereas the period between catalogue release and auction day can be as short as two weeks, depending on the auctioneer. This means it is essential that you know about properties that are coming to auction the moment they are released, in order to maximise the time you have to view and do your due diligence.
Differences in the buying process
With estate agents - You make an offer, have it accepted, do your due diligence, then exchange.
With auctioneers - You view the property, do your due diligence, bid, and if you are the highest bidder at or above reserve, you exchange contracts on the fall of the gavel.
How do you estimate the likely sale price?
Given that the Guide Price is only an indication as to where the reserve is set and not the final sale price your best option is to investigate what similar properties have sold for in the past and our database of over 800,000 past lots is a great place to start.Search options
Why can't I just use the house prices database that I find on the portals?
There are three reasons why this will be of limited use to you:1. Land Registry do not identify whether a property was sold by auction or not. It is important to know this because as a generalisation lots sold by auctioneers will be unmodernised and estate agents generally sell modernised property, with a consequent price differential that you need to be aware of.
Set up your Elerts
Finally, and perhaps most importantly you can set up multiple 'auction Elerts' where you set out the criteria of the lots you are looking for, and the moment a potential match is entered into our database you are notified by email. In addition, as soon as it has been offered we advise you whether it sold, and if so for how much, and if it didn't sell what the 'available at' price is.
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