Weekday auctions are growing in popularity, but are they worth it?

Mr Davidson, who works for AuctionWORKS, revealed weekday auctions have “long been a part of the Sydney property market.” According to research firm CoreLogic, nearly 30 per cent of auctions conducted in the New South Wales capital over the week ending 2 July were held on a weekday.

And while the 2022-23 financial year’s conclusion on the Friday (30 June) of that week may go some way towards explaining while nearly one-third of the harbour city’s auctions went ahead during the typical working week as opposed to the traditional weekend slots, Mr Davidson insisted: “There is no doubt that midweek auctions are becoming more popular.”

In his experienced estimation – Mr Davidson conducted 1,500 yearly auctions with only 400 occurring on Saturdays – there are several reasons for this increase. Agencies with high stock levels, he explained, will typically conduct midweek auctions to increase their productivity and efficiency.

“Saturday onsites are a timely process and can take agents away from their primary responsibility of showing property and meeting buyers,” he said. “This process can take one to two hours by the time you set up, open property, conduct the auction, and then sign the contract.”

Increasing efficiency isn’t the only factor driving the rate of weekday auctions up. In tricky and testing market conditions, akin to the ones swallowing Australia presently, weekday auctions can often create an environment conducive to completing the sale.

“[They] can often help to control the external influences and manage the outcome in a better way,” he said.

For Mr Davidson, no particular weekday stands out as the highest performing. The week he spoke to REB, he was scheduled to complete auctions every day, except Sunday, from 10.30am to 6pm.

“The day or time seems to have very little effect on the result, rather the quality of the agent and their marketing prowess is the real determiner of increased clearance rates,” he explained.

On the vendor side of things, regardless of whether the property going under the hammer is residential or commercial, the day selected for auction is “whatever suits the individual client.”

And while sellers may harbour scepticism towards weekday auctions, especially given Saturday auctions have long established themselves as the status quo, Mr Davidson stressed the onus is on the agent to ensure vendors are well-informed of the strategies’ benefits.

“Most vendors are absolutely fine with the idea [of weekday auctions] if the agent has explained the benefit and reasoning behind their decision,” he said.

“Agents must understand that vendors don’t transact very often, so this process is always foreign to them. With the correct explanation, it is very rare to have a vendor choose not to proceed with the process midweek,” Mr Davidson added.

For both agents and vendors, sending a property under the hammer during the typical working week presents a plethora of benefits, including control of the strategy.

On any given Saturday, buyers are contending with weekend sport, traffic, loaded family schedules as well as auction attendance, while auctioneers battle with loaded diaries that often require them to race from house to house.

Mr Davidson paints a picture where these factors “enable the agent to be more efficient in the way they spend their time and often have much more support to assist them through the process.”

On top of this, weekday auctions attract a varied crowd to the one which crowds backyards and front lawns every Saturday across all corners of the country.

Crowds on Saturdays usually comprise “interested neighbours, buyers, prospective vendors, but most importantly onlookers and passersby who simply have come to enjoy the theatre of the process.”

During the week, auction attendees are far more locked in on the task at hand, with interested buyers, vendors, and potentially curious neighbours, all in attendance.

And while it may, at surface level, appear as though there are less attendees at midweek auctions, Mr Davidson stressed this isn’t the case, and even when it is, it isn’t to the detriment of the sale.

“The shortfall is typically alleviated by having multiple auctions in the same venue on the same day, therefore increasing the number of expected attendees, typically resulting in even higher numbers,” he detailed.

Moving forward, he believes the number of midweek auctions will increase as agents and agencies hunt for “fresh ways to set themselves apart from competitors” in a market rife with economic headwinds and dampened confidence.

Another factor driving the increased proficiency of weekday auctions is the rise of online auctions which “open doors that previously weren’t available.”

“People can now bid from anywhere in the world over their phone [and] agencies are also looking to ensure they provide their vendors with the best-quality auctioneers, and this is a wonderful way to ensure availability,” he said.