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A Brisbane agent has celebrated another auction sale after using a strategy that she says drives more buyer interest and competition.
Belle Property South Brisbane agent Aoife Sheils said she asks all her vendors to provide free building and pest reports – including for an East Brisbane apartment that sold at auction last weekend for $335,000.
Ms Sheils told REB that most vendors agree to invest in the reports once it is explained that this will help to reassure first home buyers or investors who might be uncomfortable with auctions.
“Whether they decide to do it or not is their decision, but we do encourage them to get a building and pest [report] prior to the auction to get as many bidders as possible,” she said.
“There are a lot of buyers who are quite hesitant when it comes to auction conditions. One way that we can alleviate a lot of the stress is by getting the seller to agree to pay for a building and pest report that we provide to everyone who comes through.”
Ms Sheils said giving buyers free reports removes one possible objection they might have to participating in an auction campaign.
That in turn generates more buyer interest and thus more competition and higher prices, she added.
The East Brisbane listing mentioned the free building and pest report as the first of a series of seven bullet-points – ahead of information about the kitchen, bedrooms and pool.
Ms Sheils said buyers are surprised when they discover they do not have to pay $100 or $200 for a report, and give the agency credit for transparency.
That makes it easier to keep buyers on side if they ultimately fail to win the property at auction, according to Ms Sheils.
“We always build relationships with our buyers no matter what, but particularly for those who are daunted by the auction process, it’s building that rapport and trust,” she said.
Providing buyers with free reports differentiates her from her rivals, Ms Sheils added.
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