Our three quirkiest auctions

The four quirkiest seems such a challenging recall because there are so many exciting, unusual auctions I can recall over the last twenty years since my start in real estate. But…. grab the popcorn and enjoy some of these real life stories.

My first taste of bitter disappointment to a “walk up buyer” came early in my buyer’s agent career. Losing the winning position on a property in Camberwell to a lady walking the dog was not what I’d expected on that cold winter’s day. The property of interest required a significant renovation. It was rugged enough internally to qualify as unliveable, but due to overlays on the property, a knockdown and rebuild project would carry some challenges. I had carefully assessed the likely selling range and these clients had given me an ample budget to secure the property under reasonable competition.

The auctioneer finished his spiel and called for opening bids. Throughout a spirited ten or so minutes, I had the lead on two other bidders and my competing bidder looked strained. The auctioneer was still determined to eek out some further bids if he could, and I was feeling strong because I still had some remaining budget to work with. A lady who was walking a poodle approached the auction, seemingly unaware of the gravity of the situation and the process itself. She walked right across the path of the auctioneer and he stopped, turning to her as she interrupted the auction to tell her that the property is about to sell. She asked if she could see inside the property.

“No, Madam. The property has been open for half an hour prior to auction, we are about to sell it to this lady unless we receive a higher bid.”

To my horror, she offered “fifty”. I didn’t have reserves of that magnitude.

He verified the bid, accepted it and asked me for another bid, but I was out. My clients were upset, the crowd was in shock, and the hammer fell.

The winning bidder then asked if she could see her house.

Another memorable auction experience almost ten years ago related to a very unconventional condition. I received a last minute call from a new client who had spotted a townhouse in his local neighbourhood that he felt could be quite suitable for he and his wife’s search. They’d been looking for a long time and had finally decided to turn to a buyer’s advocate for support. I looked up the listing and noted that auction day was only a couple of days away; not necessarily something unmanageable for us, but a tight timeframe, nevertheless. He then delivered the real challenge. His wife was overseas and returning Monday, and while he was confident she would like the home, he wasn’t prepared to make any purchase decisions without her physically inspecting it herself.

I explained the situation to the agent and I was surprised that the conversation didn’t stall. Obviously buyer interest was low because we discussed an unusual condition that I could bid with: Subject to his wife liking it. The risk was obvious.

What if she didn’t like it?

But the upside was strategic. There was another buyer attending the auction and the agent had determined that competitive bidding would push the price up for the vendor.

Perhaps she thought the other bidder was stronger than us? Or perhaps she too was certain that my client’s wife would like the the property? It’s a risky approach, but property transacting is all about managing risk.

Winning an auction with a one dollar bid is a recent story I still smile about. Partly because the process felt quite crazy at the time, but also because these clients’ journey was so special and they embraced the fun and bought laughter to our office with their wonderful humour.

Auctioneers don’t often call for one dollar bids, but on this particular occasion we had an online zoom auction, a handful of auction participants and one fellow bidder who had a poor relationship with the agency.

He was determined to heckle and annoy, and he did it pretty well.

Bidders were getting frustrated as the auction moved at a snail’s pace in one dollar increments and we weren’t even at the vendor’s reserve. In an effort to keep the pace moving (and to capitalise on some easy brownie points), I consistently rounded up the bids, but our troublemaker stuck to his one dollar efforts. I asked the auctioneer to refer the auction to the vendors and ask if they’d be prepared to set a higher minimum increment, and after a few minutes’ pause, our auctioneer came back to announce that $500 bids would be the minimum acceptable bid.

Clearly my opponent was unfamiliar with auction rules.

He stuck to his strategy and refused to accept the new increment, firmly insisting on his one dollar rise.

The hammer fell on my bid. And our special duo, watching on from their lounge room did have popcorn on hand.