Residential real estate auctions are all about pulling at the emotional heart strings of a buyer so that they spend, spend, spend, bid, bid, bid!

At an on-site auction buyers can see, touch and smell what their money is buying them, whether it is the view of Sydney Harbour as the boats sail past or the sundrenched north facing backyard for the kids to play in all year round.

Can a powerpoint presentation create the same atmosphere for a property as on-site? Probably not, and they often technically break down, leaving the auctioneer in the lurch with a room full of people.

Saying that, in-room auctions have some advantages over on-site;

• In-room auctions are weatherproof
• Normally have a large audience (although not if your property is scheduled last)
• Are sometimes cheaper for the vendor (economies of scale)

The ultimate experience for an on-site auction is when someone walking past stops to see what is happening and suddenly decides to bid! This does happen and has happened to me several times. Nothing beats the client quickly having a look through the property and registering (which you can do at anytime throughout the auction process). With in-rooms this is less likely to happen….

Auction Series Part 1: Aution Vs Private Treaty

Auction Series Part 2: The Vendor Bid

Auction Series Part 3: How Much Is An Auctioneer?

Other auction articles we’ve covered in the past.

Registering for an Auction

If an Auction, go to Auction

• Is my property unique?
• Is my property hard to price because it is so unique?
• How many other properties are on the market with similar characteristics to my property that buyers would be comparing with?

An agent can tell you exactly what market conditions are like.

• Is there a shortage of your type of property on the market?

For example in the middle of winter less people sell but this can be the best time to sell if your house faces north or west and gets loads of sunshine. If there are more buyers than sellers it is the perfect situation.

• Does your property have a view, or is it in a highly sought after position?

Most agents will promote the auction process if your property has either or both of these features. If your house has a characteristic that will lead people to get emotionally attached and thus carried away at auction, go for the auction!

• Is there any number of properties on the market like yours?

Think about what you would do as a buyer. A buyer will look at everything in their price range that seems comparable and if there are a lot of properties like yours on the market, choosing to go to auction could be a mistake. Remember buyers have to do all their inspections prior to auction day with no guarantee they will get the property. When there is plenty of choice for buyers, buyers will tend to look at properties with an asking price before they look at an auction property and spend money on solicitors, pest inspections etc.

Another reason for a vendor to go to auction is time constraints.

- Do you need to be sold in 4 weeks?

- Are you going overseas for work and in a hurry?

- Are you financially strapped and need out?

The auction process puts an end date on the process.

When you have been in the industry as long as I have you tend to live and breathe real estate so it’s sometimes easy to forget that buyers and sellers may be completely new to auctions, are scared of the thought and don’t know the jargon. The point of this auction series is to write things out in plain and simple terms – and to state the taken for granted knowledge I’ve gained from experience.

If you disagree with anything I write please make a comment or email, I am open to other view points and definitely open to discussion. Some of the topics to be covered will be:

• Auction Vs Private Treaty? – How do you choose whether to put a price on your property or go to auction?
• Do you know what a vendor bid is?
• How much is an auctioneer?
• Onsite VS In-room auctions?
• Does an auction campaign cost more than private treaty?
• Bidders guide for auction day
• The difference between a vendor bid and the reserve
• When is the reserve set?
• Can an auctioneer knock back my bid?
• Auctioneer VS Agent? Their role on auction day
• Unconditional, 66W and cool off exchanges

My qualifications:

I am a Licensed Real Estate Agent and I have been selling real estate for 14 years. I am also a fully licensed, non practising Auctioneer!

Within a stone’s throw of Cronulla Golf Course and situated only minutes to the sandy beaches of Cronulla, 8 Kurnell Road is an idyllic family home. This beautifully sunlit beach house is all about the lifestyle it allows.

The indoor/outdoor living areas flow from the Caesar Stone kitchen through to the backyard, so that parents can glance to check on children playing on the level lawn or in the in-ground pool while cooking dinner or entertaining.

The bedroom/bathroom ratio is well balanced too with 2 bedrooms and one bath upstairs, a bedroom wing downstairs with bathroom in between and a third bathroom adjourning a bedroom overlooking the backyard, which could be perfect for grandparents or guests.

There are living areas on both levels; double garaging with internal access; natural gas; floorboards throughout the downstairs living area; guest toilet and when you enter there is a clever entrance foyer to remove the wetsuit or hang the coat up before entering the house.

Is this the perfect beach house?

Kylie Emans started Beach & Bay Realty with many great ideas. She wanted the agency to be independent of franchises, technologically advanced and with agents committed to ethical practice – honest, hardworking and fair. From the get go Beach & Bay has been at the forefront of adapting to changing technologies, embracing the internet as an advertising medium from the very beginning. Over the last year we have been working tirelessly to improve our website – collecting auction results for the public as usual but also adding more and more features.

In the last year….

Looking at Beach & Bay Realty Offline

• Beach & Bay had a record month in February 2010, selling over $15 million dollars worth of property. Considering only 2 agents were responsible for these sales this is an enormous achievement, if we do say so ourselves!

• Beach & Bay was appointed the exclusive selling agents for Drift Cronulla, a  luxury lifestyle apartment block with state of the art inclusions. Everyone here was absolutely blown away by these enormous prestige properties which set a benchmark not only for Cronulla, but Sydney-wide in regards to apartment living. Starting from $2.25million, built by Sammut Developments, and located in the heart of Cronulla, Drift attracted a lot of attention.

• Kylie Emans was nominated for a Telstra Businesswoman of the Year award

• Yet again we have had another full year of secret sales at record prices, proving that our database is not just a gimmick but an excellent selling tool and one we actually use. Instead of 1000’s of names on a list we work with a handful of value clients.

Looking at www.beachandbay.com.au

• 25,000 people have visited our humble independent website
• You have looked at over 78,000 pages
• 11,165 of you are new visitors – (thanks for stopping by, we love you and hope you come back!)

Auction results

• 12,768 is the number of times our auction results have been viewed. We provide this service for free because we want to be the local experts and we want to share our love of realestate with you. (We were also a bit tired with the lack of coverage of our area.)
• 1344 is the number of times our blog has been read – Don’t be frightened guys, we encourage you to stop by and read more. It’s not all real estate talk we promise. We cover local events, charities, property news, current affairs. And if there is a specific topic you would like addressed, just let us know!

Drift, Cronulla by  Sammut Developments

• Drift listings, blogs and posts on Sammut Developments were viewed over 5600 times on our website alone. Many of you wondered what living in the Drift Penthouse would be like and this listing was viewed over 1200 times.

Fundraising for Teneile

• Natalie Vials put the call out to help a friend and past client whose daughter had suffered from brain damage. We developed a website for Teneile Pawley, hoping to raise money to go towards medical costs and buying her a much needed wheelchair. Online donations came pouring in, Nat’s husband, Steven Vials, ran 250km through the Kimberleys to raise support and we topped it all off with a HUGE party at the Brass Monkey Cronulla. To date we have raised $25,000 in 6 months and will continue to support this great cause.

Fundraising for The Leukaemia Foundation

• I asked Kylie if it would be ok if her front of desk –marketing & social media manager was bald. She asked if it was just a new hairstyle I wanted to try (I’ve been known to do drastic things to my hair) and I told her no, it was for the World’s Greatest Shave. With Beach & Bay’s full support I raised money for the Leukaemia Foundation online and also held a fundraising night at Northies, Cronulla where staff and clients attended. $7500 in total was raised and I was in the top 30 fundraisers for NSW. Kylie did draw the line at the eyebrows (I said I would shave them too if I raised $8000…so close!).

Cronulla Buzz

• We created a new feature on our website that lists upcoming events in and around Cronulla. This is more work for us, trawling websites, actually reading flyers in our letterbox, and always keeping an eye out, but it means you can plan your weekends in advance, and that we know exactly what is going on in Cronulla. It’s just another way we hope to show you that our staff members live, work and play in Cronulla – and that it’s a great place to buy realestate!

E-Newsletter

• We recently overhauled our e-newsletter to make it packed to the brim with juicy real estate news, auction results, local events, new listings and blog rants. Released fortnightly this is something you don’t want to miss out on! Email info@beachandbay.com.au and tell us you NEED to be put on our mailing list immediately.

REUNCUT Interview with Kevin Turner

• Kylie Emans was interviewed by Kevin Turner on REUNCUT ‘The Daily Internet Show for Real Estate Professionals’. They discussed online marketing, the transition from print media to online media, the benefits of social media (twitter, blogging and facebook) and the impact it is having on the real estate industry.

Property Ad Guru

• Beach & Bay Realty was featured on this American real estate industry website with a spotlight on our auction results section.

Ok, so enough bragging. What about next year you ask?

Well, we aren’t stopping here. We are a force to be reckoned with and we are only going to get better.

• Our website will keep developing (we have an in-house (overworked) web designer).
• Our auction results are going to be more comprehensive
• Our support of charities will continue. July 2010 marks Beach & Bay Realty’s first attempt at “Dry July” where staff members are giving up grog for a month to raise money for adults living with cancer.
• We will continue selling luxury real estate and expanding our marketing (we currently offer individual property websites, the only agents doing so)
• We will be doing more project marketing since our success with Drift. Stand by for news on this.

Watch this space.

]]> http://beachandbay.com.au/realestateblog/2010/07/02/looking-back-one-year/feed/ 0 http://beachandbay.com.au/realestateblog/2010/06/09/nsw-state-budget-new-incentives-for-home-buyers/ http://beachandbay.com.au/realestateblog/2010/06/09/nsw-state-budget-new-incentives-for-home-buyers/#comments Wed, 09 Jun 2010 05:24:44 +0000 Henk Emans http://beachandbay.com.au/realestateblog/?p=1780 As far as I can determine the latest NSW State Budget for 2010 – 2011 includes 4 incentives for some buyers to buy property, mainly new ones.

1)      “Off the plan buyers” up to $600,000 will no longer pay stamp duty. This is going to help developers obtain finance because banks want pre sales before firming up financial arrangements for their clients.

2)      Home buyers that buy during construction or at completion will receive a 25% reduction in stamp duty on purchases up to $600,000. This incentive will help some “spec builders”.

3)      “Empty Nesters” (or last home buyers) over 65 are being encouraged to sell their main home and buy another home up to $600,000. Those who do this will pay no stamp duty on the purchase.

4)      First Home buyers are getting $7000 plus they pay little or no stamp duty on home purchases up to $600,000 for another two years.

Those interested are encouraged to read the fine print about the “NSW Home Builders Bonus” by looking at the Office of State Revenue site.

In the current climate, uncertainty in politics and the economy seems to be ruling the day. The 47% auction clearance rate in our area is an indication of this. Until an election is called this could be the way it is.

Home for Rent – 16A Ilett St Mollymook

Located just three hours south of Sydney, this near new garden-styled apartment features expansive open plan living with gourmet kitchen and island bench. Complementing the open plan layout is a covered outdoor entertaining area and large backyard. It is tiled for low maintenance beachside living, and the apartment’s northern side features full length sliding doors, ensuring sunshine and sea breezes all day long to the living area. Three bedrooms, two striking bathrooms (one ensuite) and internal laundry complete this South Coast abode.

Take a leisurely stroll down to Mollymook Beach and surrounds, located approximately 1km from the apartment. The ever-popular Ulladulla is just five minutes down the road where all your living requirements are met, and beyond that is the vast expanse of the largely untouched and ruggedly beautiful South Coast of New South Wales.

Perhaps the single most impressive aspect of this apartment is the price. You’d be hard pressed to find a fully self-contained three bedroom apartment for under $250 in the Western Suburbs of Sydney, let alone within walking distance to an uncrowded and unspoilt beach.

We have been inundated with enquiries so we will be holding an open house this Saturday (5^th June) from 11 – 11:30.

Call or email Beach and Bay Realty for more information.

The Tools of the Trade
The internet was my link to all properties on the market.

• I set up daily alerts with domain.com.au and realestate.com.au for all of the suburbs I was looking in and the price range I could afford.
• I kept a detailed record of all properties for sale in the our desired suburbs, in particular a record of what the agent was initially quoting and then what the property eventually sold for. It wasn’t long before trends started to appear… especially for some agents! Buyers beware!
• I asked every agent I spoke to be put me on their database or newsletter so I could be informed of any new properties that came onto the market.
• I can honestly say I have never been into a real estate office in the inner west or looked at any dodgy and dated window displays. I may have missed out on some properties by not doing this – but honestly who has the time for that.
• With work commitments extending to Saturday I was very rarely able to go to open houses on the weekend so I made hundreds of calls to agents in an attempt to get through every property I could during the week after work.

While the constant inspections may have driven my husband almost mad – it made one thing possible…when we saw something worth while – we knew straight away! By viewing so many properties – we knew exactly where the market was at – what the property was worth and approximately what it would go for at auction and if it was within our budget!

The Contenders

6 Angel Street, Newtown (Agent said approx $550)
2 bed (tiny dog box) outside laundry and another room which could loosely be described as a bathroom but a bloody fantastic location and rear lane access – not big enough for a car. 112m2 approx.
SOLD at Auction on site Saturday 27 February $652,500
Final bidding was between me and one other bidder – another young couple

48 Renwick Avenue, Marrickville (Agent said approx low to mid $600’s)
3 bed, separate lounge and dining, brick – loads of potential nice backyard. No car space. Woolworths in the street. 294m2 approx
SOLD at Auction on site Saturday 13 March $655,000
Final bidding was between me and one other bidder – actually a group of builders

39 Cary Street, Marrickville (Agent said approx low to mid $600’s)
3 bed, separate lounge and dining, loads of potential, north facing  backyard. No car space. Nice street. 311m2 approx
SOLD at Auction in rooms Wednesday 21 April $765,500
Bidding went over our budget – a older couple bought it. This property was only sold in November 2009 (so less than 6 months ago) for $565,000. The owners made $200,000 in less than 6 months – shocking! This was the auction that tipped us over the edge!

Inner Westies at Last!
I would have to say the eventual purchase of our property was a group effort. A friend had also been surfing the internet for us and directed me to 11 Malakoff Street, Marrickville. I had initially discounted this property because it was in a great street, had rear lane access and space for a car. In the inner west this automatically adds $50,000 – $70,000 to any property, and because we didn’t really care if we had a car space or not – I thought it would automatically be out of our price range. Turns out that it wasn’t! The vendor was eager to sell before auction and with all our finance in order, I got my builder brother to give it a good once over before my fantastic sister stepped in with her knowledge of the real estate industry and negotiated the final deal for us.

Sure the property has to be given a lot of tender loving care once we move in – but that’s the fun part! My dad doesn’t have quite the vision I do, having said… “No daughter of mine is going to live in a place like that!” But he has come around and admits it’s all about location, location, location… and we certainly have that. I have always been told to buy the worst house in the best street and that is what we have done. The contracts were exchanged on Tuesday – 4 days before the property was to go to auction and there is no doubt in my mind that I would have had to pay at least $25,000 more on auction day.

With each property we missed out on at auction I was always told by friends that there was a reason for it. I was told “You don’t pick the property, the property picks you.” And that is exactly what this experience felt like. It was like this little house in Marrickville just reached out and tapped on my computer screen and said come and have a look at me.

We have not been able to wipe the smiles off our faces. We are so happy with our property purchase. Finally the search is over and in 12 weeks we will be handed the keys to our new life full of debt and happiness. The inner west dream begins and we couldn’t be happier.

11 Malakoff Street, Marrickville (Agent said above $550)
2 bed plus study, beautiful high ceiling and cornices, rear lane access and what was very generously called a LUG. A lot of work needed but loads of potential. Great street, 12 minutes from work, close to transport, great location, beautiful park in the street. 194m2 approx
SOLD Prior to Auction Tuesday 25 May $625,500 (Agent said there were other offers – but who knows – but we bought it – it’s all ours – yeehaaa!)