Harcourts is hoping to “hit the ground running”, this spring with a world record attempt for the most number of auctions in one day.
The agency announced its bold goal to host 500 auctions in one day in a bid to help attract more new listings in the current market as well as highlight the power of auction campaigns.
Dubbed ‘Blue Friday’, and occurring right across Australia, the event will consist of the largest number of properties ever to go under the auction hammer in a single day.
Harcourts Australia CEO, Adrian Knowles said to his knowledge, an auction event of this scale has never been attempted before.
“We’re taking the notion of the world’s biggest online sale – Black Friday – and using that well-known concept to shake up the real estate market by getting buyers and sellers involved in a one-day property bonanza,” Mr Knowles said.
Mr Knowles said the company is looking to put on the one-day event to help both buyers and sellers.
“For us, it’s about bringing more stock to the market, in what’s currently a very low stock environment,” he said.
“It’s also about giving our agents a real head start into the spring selling season and getting them prospecting towards Spring earlier.
“The best part for the sellers is standard supply and demand, if they come to market early, prior to the big rush of spring selling season, then they will have a better opportunity with the glut of buyers that is currently in the market.”
He said it’s also a great opportunity for buyers, as auction is the most transparent way to buy a property, so they know they are paying a fair market value.
According to Mr Knowles, the auction event will be held predominantly at in-room locations right across the country.
“We’ll have rooms in every state, but two in-room events in Queensland and two in-room events in Victoria, but every other state will be in-rooms but only at one location,” he said.
He said many of the potential auction day vendors are already in the process of preparing for the event.
“Obviously, with the size of our business, we have more than enough stock to reach our goal of 500 auctions very easily,” he said.
A percentage of proceeds from Blue Friday will be donated to Beyond Blue, Mr Knowles said.
“It’s something close to my heart,” he said.
“I believe it’s probably the most predominant issue faced by agents as well as business owners and property managers.
“So who better to partner with than the biggest charity in that space.”
Blue Friday will occur on Friday September 22, with auctions hosted in offices and on-site at properties all around Australia.
