INDUSTRY NEWSNEWS

Clearance rate for in-room auctions has been higher than on site: Cooley

Cooley’s has crunched the numbers to end the debate between in-room or on-site auctions – with ‘in room’ auctions winning by a mile.

Cooley Auctions, the Sydney-based auctioneer group have compared both auction methods for selling a home and weighed up the pros and cons. Director Damien Cooley says his in-room auction numbers paint a persuasive picture.

“The in-room numbers aren’t lying. The clearance rate for in-room auctions has been higher than it has for on site. Our point is, you don’t have to sell your house on site, you can auction the property in a room environment which is conducive for great results,” Mr Cooley said.

During June, both weekly and for the month as a whole, the Cooley Auctions clearance rate has been significantly higher for in-room auctions. Out of 479 residential and commercial auctions performed by the group in June, the clearance rate hit 71 per cent for in-rooms, as opposed to 69 per cent for auctions performed at individual properties.

For the week ending June 25, in-room auctions had a whopping 80 per cent clearance rate while those undertaken at the property sold at a significantly lower rate of 67 per cent. However, this June was a definite shift in numbers since the same time this year. In June 2016 the in-room clearance rate sat at 70 per cent while the on site result was slightly higher at 74 per cent.

Damien Cooley, managing director of Cooley Auctions.

Unsurprisingly, the figures show that Mother Nature just might be one of the big players when it comes to an auction’s success on-site. During the warmer months earlier in the year, clearance rates looked quite different. On-site auctions in February had an 82 per cent success rate compared with 76 per cent in rooms.

In March, however, the score was even with both in-room and on-site auctions showing a 77 per cent clearance rate.

“In rooms, you don’t have the effect of weather because you’re in a professional environment, you get the auctioneer you choose and you don’t have to compete with Saturday traffic or kids’ sport. Lots of people are consumed with other things like family time on the weekend,” Mr Cooley said.

“At the end of the day, you can control the environment when the auction is conducted in rooms. It’s very hard to be in control when you’re on site, for example, you might be on a really busy road with noisy traffic or it might be difficult to get a park,” he added.

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Azal Khan

Azal Khan was a in-house features writer for Elite Agent Magazine.