How Do You Win a House Auction?

On paper, placing the winning bid at a property auction sale is enough to secure the house you have your eye on – but it isn’t always as simple as that.

After all, the most attractive properties may be the subject of fairly intense bidding wars, and it can be tough to keep your position in order to win.

In this article, the team at Property Solvers explores how to bid on property at auction in the smartest way possible in order to successfully secure the house you want.

Research the Property

You should visit the property you plan to bid on and find out as much as you can about it prior to the auction.

This will help you to get a good idea of its value and to come up with a sensible figure at which to start your bidding.

Auction properties all come with “guide prices”, which represent the minimum bid that can be accepted. This figure is agreed between the seller and the auctioneer, so you’ll need to understand exactly what this is.

However, learning about the property, its features and its condition can help to give you some idea of whether or not others will bid significantly above the guide, and so may help you to determine whether you should, too.

Conversely, when taking a look at the contract that is available on the property in question and arranging a building report, you may find evidence of legal issues, structural problems or other downsides. 

Even if you are confident that you’ll be able to resolve these matters, this may be a sign to keep your bids relatively low.

Bid Tactically – Best Auction Bidding Techniques:

Here, we explore how to buy a property at auction by discussing specific techniques that may give you a better chance of winning.

Single Shot

If you have a good idea of the property’s value, and if your highest possible bid sits some way above the guide price – but not enough to be unreasonable – you might decide to go in with that one single figure, then sit back.

This will prevent any fretting about individual amounts and will help you to get in the running straight away. If you’re outbid, you did your best.

Early Doors

You may decide to be the first out of the gate when bidding for a property. When buying a property at a 24-hour online auction, you could even do this in the small hours to secure the property before other bidders even see it.

This technique may also prevent those who are unsure about the lot from placing a bid at all, as it shows that you clearly have your eye on it. Plus, it may dissuade anyone who wants to avoid a bidding war.

The downside of this is that if you are clearly very eager to secure a particular property, other bidders may start examining it more closely to see what the fuss is about.  They could then jump in to try and win it for themselves when they realise its appeal.

Hang Around

You can avoid playing a part in any bidding flurry by taking a step back and waiting. This means there will be one less participant pushing the price up.  Plus, most of the activity tends to happen early on. 

This way, you’ll avoid entering a bidding war and may be more likely to win.

However, this can be a risky technique.  For example, the bids for your dream property could rise and rise.  You may end up priced out without having had a chance to place your own bid.

It’s a different matter entirely if the property you are interested in doesn’t seem to be attracting any interest at all.

If this happens, you could choose to wait until the time on the auction lot runs out.  The auctioneer can then contact the seller afterward to try and make a deal.

It’s worth noting that post-auction deals don’t tend to happen if you’re bidding online.

Go in Confident

One of the most intelligent things you can do when preparing to buy auction property safely is to collect all the information you can about the property, the specific auction house and overall process.  A good auctioneer will explain and provide all that’s necessary.

Try not to rush things.  Register in good time and settle on a clear maximum bid.  When at ‘in the room’ auctions, remember to have your bidding number to hand.

Good preparation will help you to feel confident and prevent any sense of panic. As a result, you may apply better logic and utilize smarter techniques than any less calm auction attendees.

Planning your approach in advance can make a huge difference to your auction success.

Contact Property Solvers’ Auction Team

For further information about alternative methods of buying and selling property, get in touch with the team at Property Solvers today. We’ll be happy to assist you.