When experienced sales agent, Valentina Parra, made the move to Ray White corporate, she realised she missed the thrill of selling homes at auction.
During her time as a sales agent in Werribee, she would sell 97 per cent of her listings via the auction process and loved the buzz that came from a successful campaign.
Keen to get involved on the ground again, she ended up embarking on her auctioneering career late last year.
“I loved the thrill of the auction day, even though I’d say I didn’t want to be an auctioneer at the time,” Valentina says.
“I was out in the crowd with buyers and felt like I was the woman of the people.
“When I came to corporate, I thought ‘What can I do to stay on the ground and also get the thrill of auction day?’”
Valentina says she also found many offices weren’t experienced in running an auction process smoothly, so she felt it was an area where she could add significant value.
“I’ve been blessed to watch a lot of amazing auctioneers during my career – people like Phil Parker, Haesley Cush and Jeremy Tyrrell,” she says.
“Knowing the sales side of the auction method is hugely important – I learned that from our Victorian CEO Domenic Belfiore.
“We also had amazing auction agents in our Werribee team, as well as Victorian Head of Performance Matt Condon, who has spent time with me perfecting my auction call.”
While many love the thrill of when the hammer finally drops and a property sells, but Valentina says there’s so much that goes on that she enjoys.
“Helping the agents piece together and negotiate a sale when it passes in is even better and really shows off your value add with the agent and the vendor,” she says.
“When the crowd is buzzing, with bids coming from everywhere, and you see how the agents work the crowd, extracting bids from buyers to keep the momentum?
“It’s an amazing feeling.
“I love getting to know the vendor and celebrate with them when it’s all over.”
So far Valentina has called 28 auctions since November, with no signs of slowing down.
She believes being a female auctioneer gives you an advantage that males don’t have.
“It’s our caring nature, our warmth and emotion when describing the home and extracting bids,” she says.
“I think we go about it differently; it’s not a show for females.
“It’s not about us as an individual and being the main attraction, but about the property itself, about the person bidding and the person selling.
“We bring another side out in people where they are happy to bid and don’t find us aggressive. We can push in other ways and pull on those emotions.”
Valentina says it’s great that more women are moving into auctioneering.
“Victoria has more female auctioneers than anywhere else in Australia,” she says.
“This includes several within the Ray White network, and I’m confident these numbers will grow.”
“If you think back to 2010, all you would ever see is male auctioneers.”
She believes that women are now getting the courage to do it and bringing their own flair in the process.
“It’s also public perception – people get surprised to see me and sometimes can underestimate the effectiveness of female auctioneers,” she believes.
Valentina feels it’s important to continue to try to highlight the great things female auctioneers do in the industry.
“You can’t be what you can’t see – if we continue to showcase female auctioneers, more women will see it as a viable career option,” she says.
Valentina says it’s a great career for women who are looking to have a more balanced working life.
“It also provides more flexibility in terms of work hours and work life balance,” she says.
“You can make a great wage just working Saturdays – it’s perfect for mums who want a bit of extra income but are trying to juggle work/mum life.
“Not only are they able to contribute to the household, but they can continue their real estate career and community purpose while their focus is still on their kids for the time being.”
