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A platform designed to allow secure online bidding for properties sold at auction was launched over the weekend on the back of a ‘test bed’ auction in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
The platform, called Exchange House, allows agents to list a property on all listings websites for marketing purposes. However, the auctions are conducted on the Exchange House portal.
The system works by verifying bidders and vendors against numerous government and public systems, with all bids legally binding. If a vendor accepts an offer on a bid, the property is automatically pulled off the system. Every bid restarts a 24-hour bidding cycle, meaning the auction goes on until bidding is exhausted or the vendor accepts an offer.
Director of Exchange House Mark Jamieson said the system works by a vendor setting a reserve price at the beginning of a campaign, which an algorithm then scrambles to give a random amount that reflects the original reserve price.
“It gives bidders a big confidence boost since the first to bid on a property may even end up buying it,” Mr Jamieson said.
“Agents can accurately gauge the buyer depth and interest in a property by the number of registered bidders.”
The auction platform has reached a first for the property industry, receiving a tick from the Australian Transaction Reports ad Analysis Centre and the Document Verification Service - with both approving the security of transactions and online registers.
The service charges $250 to list a property, plus a transaction fee of 0.15 per cent should the property sell. Bidders are charged a $2,000 bond as part of the registration process, which is immediately refunded at the close of the auction should the property not sell.
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