Emotional bidding silences buyer’s agent

News Corp Australia Network
Tara Kelly, Brisbane’s only female auctioneer, sells at auction on 3/28/42 Annie St, New Farm.
A BRISBANE purchasing agent was silenced at a downtown auction last weekend when a three-bedroom townhouse sold for $30,000 more than a superior home in the same complex during last year’s boom.
In December 2021, a three-bedroom Annie St mansion with a pool was sold for $1.14 million.
Armed with this knowledge, buyers’ agent Amanda Turner rejected the suggestion of a $1 million opening bid at the auction of another mansion in the same complex that had no pool and began bidding at $920,000.
3/28/42 Annie St, New Farm was sold by Aaron Woolard of Place New Farm.
“We came in with a range of high $900,000 to $1.1 million, with some factual information showing it would tend to be under $1.1 million,” Ms. Turner said. “But that is guided by facts and not by emotion.”
Digital marketer Chris Ee didn’t care 28-3-42 Annie St, New Farm had no pool and he was one of three other bidders who brought emotion to the auction.
Mr Ee (blue jeans) was one of four bidders in the auction.
“I was at another auction down the road in Annie St a while ago and we missed it. It’s a beautiful street,” he says.
Brisbane’s only female auctioneer, Tara Kelly of Estate Agents, stood in the winter sun in the forecourt of the complex to welcome about 12 people to the Saturday morning auction.
“I think I’ll add a little more, no emotion, because I don’t want to take that away from the guys, but maybe some warmth and definitely color,” Ms Kelly said. “I am an advocate for more female auctioneers because we need them. Some of the top-performing brokers are now women and the auctioneers’ space should follow that same path.”
Auctioneer Tara Kelly has been selling houses in Brisbane for three years.
On this point Ms. Turner strongly agreed. “I love it. She’s great, and she’s very relevant to this market,” said Ms. Turner.
But when she was pushed for a value of more than $1.06 million for the three-bedroom mansion, she disagreed. “The market is softening and what that means is yes, you can get approval for an auction, but you still have to meet some financial conditions and the valuation that doesn’t meet those conditions can affect your financial standing. We are still looking to make sure we have a reasonable capital purchase value.”
Mr. Ee had been looking for a townhouse downtown for two months after selling his Fortitude Valley apartment in May.
He and another bidder continued the auction after Ms. Turner went silent, while Mr. Ee and his partner bought the mansion for $1.17 million, a record for the block of 12 mansions.