Sydney property group BresicWhitney is looking to save sellers when it comes to auction fees, introducing a new model which sees them only pay to secure an auction date rather than foot the bill for full auction fees up-front.
The move is aimed at alleviating what BresicWhitney says is a big cost for sellers going to market. Rather than paying a non-refundable $995 auction fee up front, sellers will pay just $195 to secure an auction date. Full fees will only apply if the auction goes ahead.
They further explain, if properties sell prior to auction, it’s common practice across the industry that full fees still apply. And in a softer market, this means many sellers are paying for an auction service they never use.
BresicWhitney Director Shannan Whitney says non-refundable full-priced auction fees are one of the principal pain points for sellers signing up to a sales campaign.
“Paying for services that you might not ever use has always left people with a sense of dissatisfaction,” Mr Whitney said.
“Having an auction date booked when a new property goes to market is an important cue for creating urgency during the campaign.
“Yet in many instances the property may sell before the auction or migrate to a private treaty sale. With this in mind, a fee-for-service model makes complete sense.
“This new approach means our clients can lock in the guarantee of head auctioneer Gavin Croft – one of the best auctioneers in Australia – at a fraction of the up-front cost.”
The brand says it has already saved its buyers more than $3.5 million through offering strata reports and building-and-pest inspections as free downloads. Since inception, more than 48,000 buyers have downloaded these documents, together with contracts, from the BresicWhitney website.
Among them were 4,000 individual customers who saved more than $2,000 each, having downloaded documents more than five times in their purchasing journey.
Around 40 per cent of buyers (or 20,000 people) have downloaded documents for more than one BresicWhitney property during their search. In the past 12 months alone, more than 20,000 documents were downloaded across 1,200 listings.
