How to win at auction: Secret auctioneer tricks and tactics revealed

It’s not just other bidders you need to watch out for under the hammer. Get the upper hand on the savviest of auctioneers with this masterclass guide from some of the best in the game.

When you’re bidding at auction, it’s not just your competitors working against you.

Auctions are lauded as the most transparent way to buy a home, but the agent bringing the hammer down has a whole bag of secret tricks to keep you and others bidding.

We’ve asked the people swinging the gavel, and those who’ve made a career out of winning the keys, how to beat the auctioneer.

Professional auctioneer and real estate coach Brent Ilicic has trained agents and called about 6000 auctions around the country, but is now levelling the playing field by coaching buyers.

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“I’ve asked myself, ‘if I’m this persons best mate — what is all the secret information I can give them’?” Mr Ilicic said.

Among the secrets he’s exposed are carefully rehearsed scripts and tactics, including making a vendor bid — which most people assume means an auction isn’t going well.

Mr Ilicic said this gambit, given away when it was made at or below the bottom of the range, was used “to get all the bidders involved and participating” at an “irresistible” level. More bidders means more chances of someone developing an emotional response and pushing beyond their budget.

Auctioneer and Auction Bidder Masterclass creator Brent Ilicic calls an auction.

As a buyer, the response was to know your “buy price” and what your first bid was, and to use that to reset the tone of the auction, he said.

Some states allow multiple vendor bids, and Mr Ilicic said a second vendor bid was typically made closer to the reserve or the home’s fair market value.

This could help you become the highest bidder, without the home going on the market. Then, in post-auction negotiations, you could rescind your last bid and offer a figure below the vendor bid.

Mr Ilicic noted most auctioneers would also use scare tactics.

“I will be playing to your fear of being without a home at Christmas and the stress of having to find another home to bid for,” Mr Ilicic said.

Interrupting an auctioneer’s script with a small bid can make it less effective. Picture: Mark Wilson

Interrupting their script with a small bid could reduce its effectiveness.

Mr Ilicic said the auctioneer was also paying careful attention to the body language of you and anyone with you. If your partner was trying to get your attention, or you made a phone call, they might pause the auction to give you time to chat.

Bidding after this might help convince an auctioneer to accept a smaller increment if they had been rejecting modest bids.

If you are facing the same auctioneer after being an underbidder, having your partner bid away from you could stop an auctioneer or agent connecting you with your previous highest bid. If they do recognise you as someone with deeper pockets, they could advise their vendor against reducing their reserve — which could impact post-auction negotiations.

Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia president Cate Bakos.

Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia president Cate Bakos said a common tactic by agents when a home passed in to you was to say they had another buyer out the front. Ms Bakos advised having a friend or family member outside you could ring to confirm if this was true, or to consider negotiating on the front porch so you can see if the street is empty.

For those “prepared to play the game” in post-auction negotiations, telling them you are due to bid for a similar or lower-priced home for sale later in the day and will come back to them if they don’t bring the price down can also work — so long as that auction actually exists.

Ms Bakos said pitting buyers against each other was an auctioneer’s main tactic, and it was common to see a confident bidder’s attempt to intimidate their opposition with rapid and even large bids questioned.

If you go inside to negotiate, leave a friend outside to keep an eye out for agents talking to underbidders in the street. Picture: David Crosling

“They will often tell other buyers ‘this might be their last bid’, and I will say ‘don’t bother, there’s heaps more’ or ‘that’s definitely not my last bid’,” Ms Bakos said.

While counterintuitive, if an auctioneer is asking for bids at $500 and referring to that being the cost of a gym membership, a $5000 bid “might shut down the auctioneer’s plans to move it along at a less intimidating pace” and could save you money in the long run.

Auctioneers also often look to build a rapport with buyers to try and elicit further bidding.

This can be used against them. Ms Bakos advised introducing yourself before the auction, making your name known and showing familiarity with them while bidding. Many auctioneers will reciprocate, and this might intimidate other buyers.

Mr Ilicic’s Auction Bidder Masterclass course is available online at auctionbiddermasterclass.com

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