'This is the new norm': Will Canberra buyers embrace online auctions this weekend?

As agents begin hosting online auctions, home buyers are now being presented with a new norm: bidding on a house from the comfort of their own home on their device of choice.

After Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday announced a ban on traditional auctions and open inspections, vendors and agents rushed to bring their auctions forward ahead of the new rule taking effect from midnight Wednesday.

In the rapidly changing market, some agents chose to change their auction campaigns to private treaty or expressions of interest, while others opted to continue their auctions via various platforms including AuctionNow — an online end-to-end auction management system.

Canberra house hunter Jane Smith* and her partner have been actively looking for a standalone three- to four-bedroom house in Woden Valley for the past five months and have been to countless open homes and auctions over this period.

Amidst coronavirus concerns, Ms Smith welcomed the new restrictions.

“My partner and I went to an auction just over a week ago and were encouraged to gather in and get close and I didn’t feel comfortable doing that … from there, I made a decision to not attend any more auctions,” she said.

“So, participating in online auctions isn’t an issue for me. I haven’t participated in any online auctions as yet, but I am confident that I will get the hang of it.

“Growing up in a generation who grew up with and around technology, we are relatively tech-savvy so it’s not a huge change to move [auctions] online.”

Mark Larmer of Independent Inner North & City said the company would record its first online auction tomorrow at 13 Meston Place, Fadden via AuctionNow.

Mr Larmer said the online auctions would be a combination of a traditional auction and a live stream, where buyers could place a bid while watching the video and the auctioneer would present and call for bids as they came.

“We’re upskilling on it as we desperately try and get it ready to go. It’s a whole new process which usually takes weeks … but we’ve had to do this within days,” Mr Larmer said.

He said he expected “some issues” in this new format, but was optimistic that buyers would adapt.

“We will go through a bit of a teething process for the next couple of weeks … but this is the new norm. If buyers want to buy through an auction process they can only do it remotely,” Mr Larmer said.

Ms Smith said despite recent changes she was still actively searching for a home but was mindful of how the coronavirus pandemic may impact the market.

“We’re quite lucky that [my partner and I] both still have secure jobs so looking for a house is ongoing. We’re not in a hurry, but will purchase a home when the right house comes up,” Ms Smith said.

“The only concern I have at the moment is purchasing a house in this climate and having to move everything during this period, which is something I’ve had at the back of my mind recently.”

Domain senior research analyst Dr Nicola Powell said the new way of presenting auctions was “something that the market would’ve adopted in the coming years”.

“We’ve seen a rapid change in the way that we’ve transacted property over the last few weeks and in the last week alone, but when you compare how you transact property now to 10 years ago, it’s a huge change,” she said.

“Pushing things virtual is just a rapid change that was going to happen anyway.”

*For privacy reasons, we could not disclose her real name.