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Property auctions online - Samuel Wagner, Bidprop.co.uk

Property auctions

The internet is changing the way we search for homes. A recent statistic showed that 70% of people now start their search for a new home online and I would venture that that figure is rising. The internet allows you to search widely and relatively quickly, gathering a huge amount of information, from the comfort of your own desk. With a few keystrokes, you can find out the price, the floor plans, and local amenities without ever having to speak to an estate agent. Only once you have found something suitable do you have to make face-to-face contact.

While the internet has revolutionised conventional home buying, there is one place where it has been slow to catch on: property auctions. Some auction houses will allow you to see the lots on their website but details are scarce. Others will allow you to watch the auction live via the internet but you still have to bid against others in the room via the telephone. Consequently, a lot of people who might consider purchasing a home at auction are going to be put off. Auctions are often held in stuffy hotels in the middle of the day. Unless you are willing to take a day off work to participate in the auction, it will be difficult to make a bid.

Changes

Auctions have been slow to change because successful bidders must process legally binding paperwork immediately. Until recently, there has been no method of processing the necessary contracts online but that is soon to change. Some clever clogs have found ways and means to make internet transactions legally binding so changes are inevitable.

Not all of these changes will be welcome, though. Professional investors have long seen auction houses as their domain and having to bid against others, eBay style, is going to open property auctions up to a whole new audience. By setting a ‘maximum price’, bidders can simply set forth their highest bid and the computer programme will incrementally increase their bid until the maximum price is reached. It means property auctions will become more accessible to first time buyers and property auctions will probably see more transactions. In the same way that conventional newspaper classified ads made way for the likes of eBay and Gumtree, so too will the traditional auction room.

Traditional auction rooms have always been a bit intimidating and it has been easy to get carried away in the charged atmosphere. With the online revolution, property auction rooms are never going to be the same.

Samuel Wagner

Samuel Wagner is the director of BidProp, a new online property auction website that works with professional sellers to accelerate the sale of residential properties in Greater London.

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