Agents sell big under the hammer

What made you decide to start running auction campaigns for larger commercial assets?

People understand auction and are comfortable with it as a method of sale. They can see who they are competing against and it will often bring out people’s competitive nature which ensures the best possible price for vendors.

After all, in the competitive landscape of commercial real estate, the strength of your team can make all the difference in maximising the value and success of your assets.

How do you make them work for you?

We would typically do auctions where there is a need for transparency and where we believe that there will be strong levels of interest from varying groups. It also offers a greater amount of finality and certainty around timing that EOI or ‘for sale’ campaigns do not offer. I think that many commercial agents don’t have the experience or confidence to run larger properties as auction campaigns, and so don’t even consider them, which in my opinion is a mistake.

What are the benefits for your clients/ why should they take their commercial properties to auction?

I would say it has to be considered on a case by case basis and what is best for the property. Auction is not always the right method. I believe that auctions offer many advantages including finality, transparency, and true market value. Often the properties we are selling are very difficult to value and auctions offer social proof to purchasers, making them comfortable to pay more.

What has been your best auction to date?

I have previously been involved in the sale of a trophy residential building in Edgecliff for $33.25 million. I also sold a property under the hammer last year for $19.25 million, and had two auctions in 2022 which sold for $17.25 million and $13 million.

What made you decide to start running auction campaigns for larger commercial assets?

All our listings go to auction however there is a lot of cash in the marketplace at the moment and we want to work with those cash buyers, focusing on keeping our hands out of valuations and any form of conditions in general. We feel like through the auction process, it provides our sellers with the most competitive environment to help them maximise their price.

How do you make them work for you and your clients?

We heavily focus on buyer creation and competition. We utilise the marketing spent by our clients in combination with our database and buyer management to help put these buyers in a position to compete for our clients properties.

What are the benefits for your clients/ why should they take their commercial properties to auction?

Buyer competition, competitive tension and unconditional contracts provide our clients with the safest and most secure sale process. With limited supply and strong buyer demand, it seems fit to create a competitive environment for both our sellers and buyers.

What has been your best auction to date?

We’ve enjoyed every auction that we have processed, however, some particularly memorable sales include 15 Bay Street, Southport (pictured above) which sold under than hammer for $7.75 million; 107-115 Spencer Road, Carrara, which sold for $6.055 million; 6 Ereton Drive, Arundel, which sold for $4.3 million; and 74 Currumbin Creek Road, Currumbin Waters which sold for $2.9 million. These are clear standouts of an auction process run well, creating strong sale prices and yields for our sellers.