A traditional property sale involves placing an ad with a fixed sales price. This is not the case with the bidding process, however. There is no fixed price for the property, often allowing maximum prices to be achieved due to competitive pressure.
Are you looking to sell your property but are unsure of the sales price? That’s not a problem, because you can use a bidding process to clarify this. If your property attracts several potential buyers, it may be worth using the bidding process for the sale. But how exactly does the bidding process work and how should you proceed as a seller?
As with any property sale, excellent preparation is crucial for success. As well as a description of the property and its location, for example, effective sales documentation also contains additional detailed information, floor plans and professional photos. It should also describe the sales process and include a clear reference to the bidding process and the number of bidding rounds.
If you place the ad on online platforms yourself, it is important that this is accurate and complete. You should also include professional photos of the property and send detailed sales documentation, the so-called property description, to potential buyers. If you decide to work with Engel & Völkers or another estate agent, you can relax and rely on professionals to undertake this work.
After the first prospective buyers have viewed the property, the initial bidding round takes place. It is advisable to only schedule a few viewing appointments, because this will allow potential buyers to see how much competition there is. Bids are then submitted within a certain deadline. If you have specified a minimum price, any bids must be at least as high as this. If you do not want to set a minimum sales price, prospective buyers can submit an arbitrary bid. The deadline for the initial bidding round is usually between two and four weeks. When everyone has submitted their bids, the highest bid is announced. Private sellers often choose to use a bidding process with a single round and award the sale to the highest bidder.
In some cases, the sales price is achieved in several bidding rounds. Once the initial round is complete, all the bidders are notified of the highest bid and can decide whether they want to continue bidding or drop out. It is definitely worth not having too many rounds in the bidding process, because the more bids there are to beat, the higher the probability that bidders will lose interest.
Once you have obtained the highest bid, you can award the sale to this bidder. However, you are not obliged to do so: with the bidding process, there is no obligation to sell in every case. If you do not want to accept any of the bids, you can simply cancel the sale.
If both parties agree, however, the sale becomes effective when contracts are exchanged and the transaction is recorded in the land registry.
As with any property sale, the entire bidding process is often extremely protracted and time-consuming. Some of us are natural salespeople and can manage these processes with a great deal of energy and enthusiasm. Others prefer to spend their time doing other things rather than selling property. If you fall into the latter category, our real estate agents can manage and support the entire sales process. We recommend contacting your local Engel & Völkers shop to find out more about working with us. We look forward to achieving the highest price for your property!
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