Three Things To Consider Before Listing Your Home For Auction

If you have ever sold your property by auction, you know it’s not just about the day. It’s about what happened leading up to the day. The preparation, the marketing, and, most critically, the timing of your campaign can make or break your result. Did you expose the property to the whole market? But how long do you need? This is a question I’m asked a lot, by both sellers and agents. Especially at this time of year, when vendors are eager to secure a sale before the holiday period begins. If the campaign is too short, you don’t expose the property to enough buyers. If the campaign is too long, the buyers get fatigued and buy something else. 

It’s a delicate balance that requires careful consideration. There is a formula for the length of time required and if you’re wanting to sell before Christmas it’s useful to know. Understanding this framework can help you maximize your property’s appeal while maintaining buyer momentum throughout the campaign. The first thing to understand is the length of time is market dependent. If the market is strong the campaign is shorter, and if the market is sluggish you need more time. Current market conditions should always dictate your strategy, not arbitrary timeframes or personal preferences. The industry standard is 3-4 weeks, though this can vary significantly based on property type and buyer demographics. So here’s how you work it out—it’s dependent on 3 factors: How long will it take you to gather the buyers? How long will it take those buyers to be auction ready? How long does the owner need to understand the market feedback?

An example of how short a campaign can be is the current unit market. We can gather buyers within 4-7 days, most of them are auction ready and owners are aware that today’s prices are the strongest they’ve been in 15 years (so if their price is not achievable now then when?). This is seeing us have 10 day auction programs, leaving plenty of time to list and sell before Christmas. The compressed timeline works because all three factors align perfectly in this market segment.