18 Questions For Every Home Seller (Part 18)

Setting auction dates

When setting the auction dates, keep in mind the following for residential single-family homes and condos:

●     Give yourself sufficient time to prepare for and advertise the first preview (open house), typically 7-10 days. If you start advertising the property only two or three days before, you are unlikely to attract a sizable pool of potential buyers and, therefore, a less competitive number of bidders.

●     Some properties require just one or two open houses to generate a sufficient pool of bidders, while others may require three or more. The relative desirability of the property and local level of demand are the determining factors. Rural properties, for example, may require several preview events, while suburban properties rarely require more than two. More showings is not always better; dragging out the open house marketing process may cause potential bidders to lose interest.

●     Experience shows that the best time to end an auction is a day or two after the last open house. If you have only one preview event, market the property for seven to 12 days and finish the auction on the 14th day. This is the minimum recommended marketing time for an auction.

●     If you have two preview events, allow seven to 10 days before the first preview to market the property and then another seven days to market for the second event. Again, end the auction a day or two after the last event.

●     Land, agricultural, commercial, and industrial properties usually take longer to market. Allow at least 30 days; many such properties will require 60 days or more.

●     Of course every property and every market is unique. The above guidelines have worked well for many sellers, but of course it’s up to you to judge your circumstances.

●     The best days for an auction preview are when most potential buyers have time to attend: weekends from 9 AM to 1 PM or from 1 PM to 5 PM. During these hours, you’ll draw “street traffic”who see your signage while driving by in addition to those who’ve read about your open house in advance.

●     If you sell land rather than a built property, you won’t need formal open houses by work with interested parties to show the property on request.