For Justin Long, the heart of real estate has always been the auction floor. The moment the crowd gathers, the bidding begins, and the energy rises, he comes into his element. The Director at Marshall White & Co, says auctioneering is part performance, part negotiation, and part psychology.
After more than three decades in the business, he remains convinced that the auction is not only the fairest way to sell a home but also the most compelling.
“I became an auctioneer about a year in,” he recalls. “I discovered I had the right personality for it, a nimble brain for quick decision-making, and always with the client’s best interests at heart. It just worked for me.”
That combination of speed, strategy and theatre was a natural fit.
Justin says he has been told more than once that he has a personality made for the auction stage, but it is not charisma alone that keeps him in demand.
Over the years, he has honed a craft built on precision, transparency and respect.
While he insists the fundamentals of auctioneering are much the same as they were when he started, one change stands out.
“The industry went through a clean-up about 20 years ago with the eradication of dummy bidding. That made a huge difference. Buyers began to see auctions as transparent and fair. There’ll always be cynics, but overall, auctions became a much more trusted system, and that’s exactly as it should be.”
That trust matters, because for Justin the auction is not about putting on a show or promoting an agent’s brand, but about creating the best conditions for competition.
“I don’t have any room for marketing myself over the client’s interests. My job is to serve the vendor and their property. Once that’s done, fine, celebrate the result and build the profile. But during the campaign, the focus must stay on the client.”
It is why he remains cautious about live streaming, even though the technology has become common in recent years.
“Live streaming gives buyers an excuse not to attend in person. And when buyers don’t turn up, we lose the chance for someone to decide on the spot to bid. You’d be surprised how many times people turn up at an auction, see the home for the first time and say, ‘Actually, this is better than I thought, I’ll have a go.’ I don’t want to dilute that.”
Instead, he places great emphasis on what he calls “the arena” – the physical environment that sets the tone.
“If you’ve got two hundred people on a sunny street, that’s fantastic. But if it’s a smaller crowd, you bring them closer together. Twenty people in a front garden or a family room feels like a full house. The way you set the scene matters.”
Theatre, though, is only part of it.
“It can’t become a comedy act,” he says. “You need engagement, energy, maybe a touch of humour, but it has to be professional. Everyone there … buyers, neighbours, onlookers, needs to feel respected. That balance is delicate, but it’s essential.”
Auctions, of course, don’t always end with the hammer falling on a strong result and Justin is pragmatic about the occasions when bidding is thin or a reserve is not met.
“The auction is part of the process, not the whole process. A property doesn’t lose value because it doesn’t sell on the day; a three million dollar house is still worth three million dollars tomorrow. Often, the best results come a week later.
“Sometimes you even find two buyers days after the auction who both want to pay reserve, and you can do even better. You have to reassure clients of that.”
One recent auction that stands out for him was held not in the street but in the Marshall White boardroom, with two committed buyers.
“It was transparent, professional, and both parties knew exactly what was happening and it was done in a convivial atmosphere. The underbidder even congratulated the buyer and that to me is the perfect outcome: the vendor is happy, the buyer is thrilled, and the underbidder leaves feeling respected. That’s how you build trust.”
It is that trust which has underpinned his career. More than three quarters of his business now comes from repeat clients or referrals.
“Not everybody leaves as a raving fan, you can’t please everyone, but most of the people I’ve represented over 35 years have had good experiences. They tell a couple of friends or a family member, and fifteen years later, the phone rings. That’s how it works.”
Beyond his own auctions, Justin also leads Marshall White’s novice auctioneer program, which has become a fixture of the firm’s culture.
He describes it as one of the most rewarding parts of his role.
“Most people can read a script and recite the rules. The standouts are the ones who can describe a home with authenticity, think quickly during bidding, and stay calm when it gets complicated. That’s what separates the good from the great.”
He laughs as he remembers common rookie mistakes: “Novices will sometimes drop a bid or forget an increment – going from 1.7 million back to 1.6 million. It happens. But when someone handles the bidding seamlessly, or engages the crowd in a way that lifts the whole room, you know they’ve got something special.”
Where Justin is most critical of the industry is in the rise of expressions of interest campaigns.
He believes they create confusion for buyers and allow agents to avoid the harder work of running an auction.
“Too often you end up with a private auction between two buyers anyway. So why not start with an auction in the first place? If the pricing’s right, competition will do the rest.”
For him, expressions of interest reflect a lack of confidence: “Agents need to back themselves as negotiators. That’s our core value. If you can’t negotiate, then perhaps real estate isn’t for you.”
This week Justin marked 30 years with Marshall White, a rare tenure in a career that began when the firm was a small player in the eastern suburbs and is now one of Melbourne’s prestige powerhouses.
He acknowledges the milestone with pride but says he is more energised than ever by the work itself.
“I’m enjoying what I do now more than I have in years. I love the people I work with, I love the theatre of auctions, and as long as I’ve got the cap on my head, I’ll keep making the case for them.”
