Online Conditional Auction – The Modern Method of Selling Homes

The vast majority of residential housing transactions in England and Wales are normally conveyed under the Private Treaty method of sale, but there is a new kid on the block and it’s Conditional Auction. Not to be confused with it’s more commonly known cousin Non-Conditional Auction commonly seen on the popular BBC TV program Homes Under The Hammer, these two methods of auction are distinctly different but share some key benefits in speed, certainty and transactional transparency.

So what is Conditional Auction? It’s a process whereby buyers competitively bid for an exclusive option to buy and win a specific period of time; typically 28 days to exchange contracts and 28 days thereafter to complete. The winning buyer bidder pays over a non-refundable reservation deposit to the auctioneer who holds this as stakeholder until contract exchange. The payment of the Reservation Deposit by the buyer from a seller’s point of view ensures the buyer is ‘invested’ in the purchase and unlike Private Treaty, unable to walk away from the purchase without incurring financial loss. Conversely from a buyer’s perspective it delivers protection against the risk of gazumping.

At Auction House we are already established as the leading regional and national property auctioneers using non-conditional auction and we recognise that our buyers are normally investors or trade buyers. Buyers who require traditional mortgages rarely buy at non-conditional auction. We want to see auction as a method of sale become a compelling option for sellers of good quality residential property. Conditional Auction allows buyers seeking to owner occupy who require mortgages to purchase, this widens the buyer pool. Indeed Conditional Auction is also highly effective for servicing divesting landlords as it allows tenanted property to be sold with tenants in situ.

With UK average ‘market-to-move’ timescales commonly running at six months for estate agents using Private Treaty the Online Conditional Auction process thus far has proven to deliver sale results in sub seventy days, additionally sales receipts are found to be comparable with prices being achieved by estate agents selling under the Private Treaty method.

We have developed two video guides that demonstrate this new ‘Modern Method of Selling Homes’ which can be viewed here:

In summary, Conditional Online Auction can help sellers of good quality residential homes sell faster and at an open market value.

Interested to know more? Your journey starts with a free Online Auction sales valuation without obligation. Contact Auction House on 0345 873 1366 or email enquiries@auctionhouse.uk.net