With more people opting to buy and sell through auctions. The end of 2022 saw a 62.9% increase in properties sold through auction and increasing. Now in June 2024, it is due to break all records and may even overtake the open market in terms of sales and listings.

Main Benefits

Speed - Properties are usually sold within a month of being listed, provided the price is sensible, attractive and reflective of its condition. Due to the legal pack being disclosed before the buyers bid, once purchased, the legal side of the sale is progressed extremely quickly, meaning you could look to complete and receive the money from the sale within a month or less. There are options if the seller needs longer to move and can be displayed in the legal pack.

Costs - Property auction costs can be much lower than traditional estate agents, and in our case, we take all fees in the form of a finders fee from the buyer, meaning sellers only have to pay for their solicitors. 

Security - Upon the fall of the gavel, whether virtual or physical, contracts are exchanged. With modern auctions a deposit is also taken from the buyer, leading to very low buyer back-out rates and certainty in the transaction. The buyer is legally bound to buy the property at that stage.

Transparency - As everything is declared upfront, buyers know exactly what they are getting with a property. There is no uncertainty with the condition of the property, or the potential to find nasty surprises at a later date when checks are done, as everything is completed upfront. 

Control - Sellers can set a reserve price - the minimum they will allow the property to sell for - and if the property does not hit that price it will not be sold. However, with modern auctions, there are alternatives to this due to flexibility. The highest bidder can be approached with a final offer of the reserve price, or alternatively the seller can opt to take the highest bid, however 9 times out of 10, the reserve price is reached before the sale is completed. 

Traditional versus online auctions 

Traditional property auctions offer a fast sale - the bidding usually lasts for 5-20 minutes, but sale prices tend to be lower and there are restrictions in terms of travelling to the location, viewings, and simply not accessible to everyone. In addition, traditional auctions have a fall-through rate of around 5%.

Modern property auctions like ours usually take longer (28 days) but this means you can get a higher price as this method drives up longer-term competition between bidders. Contracts are also exchanged on the same day and a deposit is usually taken to ensure there is no back out from the buyer. With Smart Auction UK, our fall-through rates are less than 1%.

At Smart Auction UK, we are a free service for sellers, as buyers pay our fees. We also appoint a local agent to deal with the hassle of viewings, advertising and negotiations. We are an all-inclusive service and deal with everything, to get your property sold at the right price, in the right time frame, all at no cost to you. 

Don't waste any more time. Why not enquire today and see what we could do for you?

If you want to learn about the modern online auction, see if auction is right for you here. Call us on 0330 223 6118 or send us an enquiry.