Apollo Auctions Victoria director and auctioneer Andy Reid says home buyers can benefit from learning to pay attention to others’ emotions at home auctions.

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Victorian homebuyers hoping to save under the hammer this spring can knock down their purchase price by manipulating their opposition’s emotions this spring.

Apollo Auctions Victoria director and auctioneer Andy Reid, one of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria’s 18 master auctioneers, has revealed winning the keys isn’t just about having more money than the other bidders.

“The psychology and emotions involved during an auction are running so high because it is likely to be the biggest financial decision many buyers will make in their lives in the 15-25 minutes in front of a property,” Mr Reid said.

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“You can try – and fail – to ignore it, or pay attention to how these emotions affect the outcome and use them to your advantage.”

1. Positively engage with the auctioneer and the agent

Auctioneers are people too, and how you interact with them can influence how they respond to you.

While it’s important to stand firm and make your own decisions, maintaining a positive attitude can lead to a smoother interaction.

If you’re confrontational, don’t be surprised if you receive the same energy in return. Keep the engagement professional and respectful for the best outcomes.

Apollo Auctions Victoria director and auctioneer Andy Reid in action.

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2. Variation in your bidding pattern is vital

Generally speaking, three elements control the pressure in an auction – speed, timing and volume. For example, if you’re down to the last two bidders, then bidding quickly puts so much pressure on the other bidder because the attention from the auctioneer and spotlight from the crowd will be focused on them for more time. They’ll feel like they’re ‘on the clock’, and that makes a lot of bidders buckle.

3. Do your homework on the auctioneer

It’d be worth going out and experiencing how they handle the auction call, how they handle silence, if they struggle under pressure if there are no bids, and what they say at certain points during the auction. Getting used to their nuances will help you to stay calm when it’s your turn.

There’s often more than 1000 or more home auctions every week in Victoria.

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4. Understand auction ‘pain points’

If you can spot certain pain points during an auction, you can read what’s happening behind the scenes which can help you to work out what’s happening with the vendors. A huge ‘tell’ is when you see the listing agent run into the house to talk to the vendor. That tells you that the price the auction has got to is where the agent (at least) thinks that the property should be going ‘on the market’. If they come back out and don’t go on the market it means that they could be on a different page to the owner.

5. Do not let it pass in on a ‘vendor bid’

The biggest mistake that costs buyers so much money is not taking advantage of the legal right to negotiate by being the highest bidder under the reserve. With lower interest rates starting to be offered by major banks, you are mad to assume that you’re the only one interested in a property, so use the legislation to your advantage by being the one to win the auction even if it doesn’t reach the reserve.

Mr Reid advises home buyers to do their homework on individual auctioneers. Picture: Andrew Henshaw.

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Mr Reid was also named Australian Auctioneer Of The Year by Real Estate Business in 2022 and is author of the book Success Curious: How to define and achieve high performance, to be released January 28.

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