Anywhere Auctions: bidding website, app taking off in Melbourne
Author: Samantha Landy - Herald Sun news.com.au
Being stuck at work in Richmond didn’t stop a first-home buyer from securing a Coburg townhouse, thanks to a new online platform being hailed as the real estate industry’s “next step”.
Physically being at an auction is no longer a crucial component of buying under the hammer.
Real estate agencies across Melbourne are adopting new online platform Anywhere Auctions, which allows buyers to watch and bid at auctions in real time via an app and website.
A first-home buyer who wasn’t able to get out of work to bid for a Coburg townhouse became the platform’s first virtual buyer earlier this month.
Barry Plant Inner City Group director Rocco Siciliano said the medical professional outlasted three other bidders to win the three-bedroom pad at 8 Service St for $697,000, $37,000 above reserve — all from a Richmond hospital.
She also signed the contract of sale electronically to complete the deal without having to set foot outside work.
Another auction broadcast on Anywhere Auctions involved a “bidder in Dubai, a vendor in Perth and a property in Melbourne”, the agent said.
Mr Siciliano said his office had been using the platform for about four months and would be adopting it for “every auction” from now on, with Barry Plant Frankston and Northcote also on board.
Anywhere Auctions managing director Garry Giritharan said another leading residential agency, and commercial big guns CBRE and Colliers had also embraced the platform.
He said the service ensured “no one ever has to miss out on the opportunity to participate in an auction”.
It was born out of frustration he commonly felt as a property investor, missing out on buying opportunities because he couldn’t attend every auction he wanted to.
This was a common experience in Melbourne’s typically jam-packed market, where hundreds of auctions took place every weekend.
Mr Giritharan said the platform also ensured sellers would “never again have to hear potential buyers … couldn’t make it to their auction”, eliminated the need for buyers to rely on stand-in bidders, and let buyers “jump on the opportunity of a passed-in property by making an offer instantly” online...
Source: news.com.au