KINGSTON -- A Kingston realtor is hoping that a unique way to sell a house will bring in the bids, and help those who may feel a bit left out of the real estate market in the process.
Jessica Hellard is putting up 585 Davis Dr., near Gardiner’s Road and Taylor Kidd Blvd., in central Kingston up for online auction on Friday.
"I’ve seen friends of mine do this in the GTA and basically it came about because our market got a little crazy and we were looking for different ideas," explains Hellard.
Hellard teamed up with On The Block Auctions, which runs the auction site.
The concept is similar to how you would bid on things on the website eBay.
The cost for the home is set at $350,000. Interested bidders then place their offer when the auction begins at 5 p.m. Friday. The online auction will continue until no one wants to go any higher.
Hellard says Kingston’s real estate market has been red hot lately as a sellers market, with interested home-owners making blind bids that may be far more than what the next person offers.
She says it’s left many people feeling they can’t make sufficient offers, especially young, first-time home buyers.
The auction process allows for everyone to see what the offers are, and what the house is worth.
"A lot of first time homebuyers that don’t have a lot of experience in the market are frustrated by that guess work," Hellard says. "And this way, it says very clearly, if they’re the winning bidder they know the market has supported that price point."
Hellard says this type of home sale is new for Kingston, but has been seen in regions like Toronto and is far more common around the world in places like the United Kingdom and Australia.
She says the hope is that it creates more transparency in the bidding process.
"The guess work in there is a little bit much for a few buyers that are out there, and realtors don’t know how to help them because the comparables are going crazy," explains Hellard.
The home will go up for sale for three hours, but will continue as long as there are bids, and there’s no last minute chance to swoop in with a high bid.
"Makes it fair for everyone and is very transparent process, so the seller can hopefully get more buyers than normal," she says.
If someone interested in bidding on the home but is unavailable on the auction day, potential buyers can place a maximum bid beforehand – a confidential price that will only be increased to the lowest price necessary for that bidder to be in the lead when the auction opens on March 26.
