Page 7 - Queensland Country Life Spring Property Guide

Online farm auction surge

BY MARIAN MACDONALD until they come back online," reserve, they can see what how the price is looking but,
he said. we've done or what we ha- with online auctions, it just
MORE than half of the There were unexpected ven't; we don't need to go goes quiet," he said.
farmland auctions held benefits for buyers and ven- back and relay all the infor- "Everyone's looking at
by Nutrien Harcourts in dors, too. mation, they've just seen it each other on the Zoom
Queensland and New South Because all the bidders all unfold." screen, and nobody's say-
Wales are now being held are able to see each other, It meant the auctions ing anything."
totally online. online auctions brought a could be held very efficient- The less social nature of
So far this year, the busi- new level of transparency to ly, too. the online auction had some
ness has held 72 fully online the process. "We have two, three or four side benefits for agents like
auctions in just these two "You can see the other auctions in one hit so we'll Mr Michelmore and priva-
states. people bidding raise their sell a property and then we'll cy-seeking buyers or ven-
Not only that, the number registration number," Mr move on to the next one," Mr dors.
going online has kept gain- Michelmore said. Michelmore said. It meant less catering
ing momentum ever since "It's not like you're picking "You've got all the bid- and organisation, fewer
Nutrien Harcourts held its bids out of a tree, it's real and ders there ready to go and "tyre kickers" and unwel-
first virtual auction in April right in front of you." then they just sit there and come guests.
last year, north-east develop- wait until their property "Generally another agent
ment manager Jason Michel- Vendors' new view comes up. will go to a competitor
more said. The technology also "If we get one that sort of agent's auction to see what
What started off in an brought vendors closer to the stalls and doesn't make the the property sells for and see
agent's garage during lock- action, he said. reserve, we just hold it over who's buying and who's bid-
down had grown sophisti- "When an auction is being and go on to the next one ding," Mr Michelmore said.
cated, with the business now conducted on their property, while the agent negotiates "Sometimes, not always
running at least seven fully generally, vendors will be behind the scenes and then but sometimes, a competitor
online auctions a week in in a separate room hearing bring it back into play again agent will walk up to one of
NSW and Queensland. REMOTE VISIBILITY: Bidders and vendors enjoy added a few bids taken here and when they're ready." the under bidders after the
"We've been fine tuning transparency during fully online farmland auctions. there but they probably don't It's the atmosphere sur- auction is finished and say,
as we go along," Mr Michel- know who's bidding," Mr rounding those moments "'Look, I saw you bid on this
more said. Michelmore said. of vendor consultation, too, one, I've got a property down
"We've set up rules around The auctioneer stands in freeze could slow an online "With a Zoom online that mark the difference the road that I reckon can
how to bid, around micro- front of a green screen at auction down for long. auction, they can turn their between physical and on- suit you, would you like to
phones and videos, the Nutrien Harcourt's Brisbane "If someone freezes, the camera off and see who's line auctions, Mr Michel- come and have a look at it?'.
process, and added extra head office, aided by a moni- agent can hold the auction bidding, how often they bid, more said. "You could have lost an
features to the screen so that tor displaying the bids. up and say, 'We've just got whether they're hesitating, "Generally, most of the opportunity whereas, online,
you can see previous bids, Mr Michelmore said not a problem here with bidder whether they're not. people in the room will start you can choose who you
andwhatthebidisstanding." even the inevitable screen number 12, we'll just wait "If we don't reach the talking to each other about send your Zoom link to."

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