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An agent who uses pre-auction coffees to warm up buyers has been able to drive up the price on a recent sale to $630,000 over reserve.
Peter Spathis from Mint Property Agents in Sydney sold two neighbouring properties for $3.38 million after meeting the three main bidders in the days before the auction.
“That’s something that has to happen now that the market is changing,” he told REB.
“With the market being what it was in the past 18 months, buyers got a little bit neglected because you knew you were going to sell, and so you might have decided not to put that phone call in.
“But the game is now changing – if you don’t speak to your buyers, you won’t get that premium result.”
The reserve price for the two Campsie houses was $2.75 million, which matched the estimate Mr Spathis gave the vendor at the start of the campaign.
Bidding started at $2.3 million, climbed in $50,000 increments until $3 million, and then increased in lots of $5,000 or $10,000 until the end.
Mr Spathis said that buyers who attend pre-auction coffees become more comfortable with the process, and so are more likely to show up on the big day and then actually bid.
“It’s something we do every week, but it’s something they do once or twice in a lifetime,” he said.
“We explain the process to them, we explain a couple of different tactics they can use – they can hold back until the last minute or go in strong and try to deflate the auction.”
Mr Spathis said another advantage of meeting keen buyers for these coffees is that it then makes it much easier for him to retain their interest if they lose out at the auction.
Those buyers are always front of mind when he makes his follow-up calls on Monday and Tuesday.
“You know what price range they've got and you know they’re ready to go, so it’s an easy conversation to have,” he said.
[LinkedIn: Which generally works better – auction or private treaty?]
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