Why auctions are not just for the 3 D’s: Death, divorce and D-bank

Auctions are no longer just for the dreaded three D’s, with perceptions of the sales method changing dramatically over the past 20 years. Here’s why.

I was out for a stroll with the boys recently when a local friend, who I have known for years, stopped me to share the sad news that her mum had passed away.

She wanted to know which local agent she should contact to sell her house.

I knew the house well and I knew it would be very popular.

I gave her a few names and said that if she decided to auction it, I love to swing the gavel out the front.

Surprisingly they hadn’t considered auction.

Haesley Cush is an auctioneer and the co-founder of the Ray White Collective. Photo: Supplied.

Her response was ‘we know the property will be popular and will likely sell itself, so we don’t think we would need an auction’.

I used to hear this sort of response a lot, but I haven’t heard it for a long time.

MORE: ‘Bang for your buck’ suburbs John McGrath tips to boom

Home not sold in 83 years stuns onlookers at auction

Cottage sold for six times its old price at cracker auction

Auctioneer Haesley Cush from Ray White in action.

It’s an old view that auction is for the 3 Ds: Death, Divorce or D-Bank.

But that has changed signifactly over the last 20 years.

Today, auction is the method of sale for nearly every style and situation when someone is chasing their maximum price.

I said to my friend: ‘Once understood, auction is the simplest and most transparent way to sell and buy real estate’.

I went on to explain that I agreed she was going to have lots of buyers interested.

That the reason she should sell by auction was because of the open competition between those bidders.

It’s only through that competition that she can truly see that every buyer has every opportunity to see the other bidders prices and have an equal opportunity to beat them or miss out.

This is how you achieve your maximum price.

Originally published as Why auctions are not just for the 3 D’s: Death, divorce and D-bank