Online property auction platform launches
A platform designed to allow secure online bidding for properties sold at auction was launched over the weekend on the back of a ‘test bed’ auction in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
The platform, called Exchange House, allows agents to list a property on all listings websites for marketing purposes. However, the auctions are conducted on the Exchange House portal.
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The system works by verifying bidders and vendors against numerous government and public systems, with all bids legally binding. If a vendor accepts an offer on a bid, the property is automatically pulled off the system. Every bid restarts a 24-hour bidding cycle, meaning the auction goes on until bidding is exhausted or the vendor accepts an offer.
Director of Exchange House Mark Jamieson said the system works by a vendor setting a reserve price at the beginning of a campaign, which an algorithm then scrambles to give a random amount that reflects the original reserve price.
“It gives bidders a big confidence boost since the first to bid on a property may even end up buying it,” Mr Jamieson said.
“Agents can accurately gauge the buyer depth and interest in a property by the number of registered bidders.”
The auction platform has reached a first for the property industry, receiving a tick from the Australian Transaction Reports ad Analysis Centre and the Document Verification Service – with both approving the security of transactions and online registers.
The service charges $250 to list a property, plus a transaction fee of 0.15 per cent should the property sell. Bidders are charged a $2,000 bond as part of the registration process, which is immediately refunded at the close of the auction should the property not sell.
