10th July 2024

How we value your property for auction

Getting a valuation is the first step to selling your property by auction. It’s an important step that enables the auctioneer to assess the property, its current state and amenities, and determine a suitable guide price. Here at SDL Property Auctions, we pride ourselves on a free, no-fuss, no-obligation auction valuation, so that taking the first step feels as easy and stress-free as possible. Keep reading as we guide you through the valuation process so that you know what to expect.

Why should you get a property valuation?

Getting a valuation is a crucial part of selling your property as it will help us to understand how much your property is worth, so that we can set an appropriate guide price and reserve price for the auction. Without an accurate valuation from a qualified valuer such as ourselves, your property could be under or overvalued, which may lead to one of two things. You (the seller) might not achieve the price you want for your property or the property may not sell at all if the price is set too high, making it unattractive to buyers. Doing an in-depth valuation can help bring peace of mind, as it takes into consideration not just your own property, but also provides valuable research into the wider market of your area, so you know that you’re selling for the best price.

The ways we can sell your property

The first thing we will do when you request a valuation is to understand your circumstances, this includes everything from your ideal selling time frame to your price expectations. This will help us to understand which type of auction will be best for you so you have the best chances of selling when you want, for the price you want. 

At SDL Property Auctions we have three different ways to sell your property:

Monthly live-streamed national property auctions

Our live streamed property auctions are great for reaching more bidders, as it cancels out the need for travel and the associated expenses, meaning we can reach a wider audience, resulting in greater interest for your property. People are able to place remote bids in real-time, and if you like, you can even watch the bids live from the comfort of your own home. Buyers can also view your property prior to the auction date, which will increase the chances of selling as they may be set on your property before the bidding even starts.

If you’d like to learn more about this you can read through our blog on how do live-streamed auctions work for more information on how to sell a property this way.

Timed Auctions

Timed auctions are held on our website at all times, and are facilitated through the website rather than a live streamed event. They are live on the site to take bids 24/7 during an agreed window of time, and will have an agreed end time assigned to them. They’re ideal if you need to sell sooner rather than later as buyers will have to place their maximum bids before the time ends – making it a good option if you’re working with a particular deadline. 

Buy-It-Now sales

The longest part of the whole process is the wait for auction day – for both the seller and bidders. With buy-it-now sales, this waiting process is cut to practically nothing, with buyers able to purchase the property right away. In simple terms, there is one fixed price and one bidder, and once the purchase has been made it is binding immediately. This provides security and speed for sellers who may feel less inclined to take risks or watch bidding wars go down, and so with buy-it-now, you are able to sell quickly for a set price.

Not dissimilar from selling on the open market, this route has the added bonus of cutting the sale time, with no negotiations. If you’d like to learn more about this process, then you can read through our blog on what are buy it now auctions.

Researching your property 

After helping you decide on the best way to sell based on your needs, we will then undertake thorough research into your property. This will include everything from analysing its location to checking for sold prices on similar homes in the area.

As property professionals, we have access to industry sources which allows us to see other properties in the area that have been sold, as well as the ones that were withdrawn from the market. This, along with several other factors, will help us to determine the ideal selling price for your property.

If you’re in the process of refurbishing your property to increase its value before selling, we can also take this into account to provide an accurate estimation of the value of the property once it’s completed.

Who will buy your property?

Next, we will use our experience and expertise to predict the target audience that will be interested in your property, as this can affect the selling price. For example, a private buyer will be less driven by short-term profit but for a landlord investor, we will research the rental incomes for similar properties in our valuation. So it’s not just the property’s condition or location that we take into consideration, we also view its sales potential based on the target market.

How property auction prices work

Our main goal is to offer your property at a price that will be the most attractive for bidders. Therefore, it is likely that our initial valuation may be lower than you might get from an estate agent.

The reason we start from a lower point is that when selling properties by auction, we aim to start out with an attractive guide price to encourage competitive bidding. A lower price is likely to mean more bidding demand, and therefore the price achieved can quite quickly exceed the valuation, including that of a valuation you may get on the open market. There is also no room for the price to be negotiated down, which you may experience if opting to sell on the open market.

We will also work with you to set two prices for your property to get it ready for auction – these are known as the guide price and the reserve price.

The guide price

The guide price is what is advertised to potential buyers and is usually the price at which bidding begins. The guide price must be within 10% of the reserve price, either higher or lower, and it gives bidders a realistic idea of how much the property may sell for. Often at auction, if the demand is high, you can achieve much higher than this initial guide price.

The reserve price

The reserve price is the minimum price that you’re willing to accept for the property and is completely confidential between the seller and the auctioneer. If the reserve price isn’t met during bidding, then the property doesn’t sell and only then will the reserve price be disclosed.

In the case that it doesn’t sell, we will continue to market the property for you afterwards in our ‘unsold auctions’. Most of our unsold properties will sell after the auction, with many being snapped up as early as the same or the following day.

Get a free property valuation with SDL Property Auctions

At SDL Property Auctions, we offer a free, no-obligation valuation, so you can take the first step into selling at auction with ease. We pride ourselves on providing accurate valuations the first time around, that’s why we don’t provide misleading instant valuation estimates.

To request a comprehensive valuation, you can fill in the form on our sales valuation page and we will aim to get back to you within 24 hours. Alternatively, you can head to our contact page if you have any questions first.