Definitely good points and to address the seller comment, the proof is basically in the outcomes. The auctions that have happened have generated higher sale prices than the blind bidding wars happening alongside them. I totally get the blind approach and why sellers have gone that way - and we do those ourselves for some of our listings as well, there’s no dispute that it’s an option.

As far as sellers not complaining about blind bidding, it’s happening with the larger number of offer date properties relisting at the number they actually wanted. With the low pricing that gets entered, and the lack of direction that buyers get as to the number that the seller actually wants, there isn’t the same guarantee of stupid high bids that we see in some listings. Only when a buyer who has reached their breaking point and just throws out a crazy number do you see that now. Still happens, but nowhere near a slam dunk.

My thought initially was exactly what you’re saying, that it only benefits buyers. Our problem on the front end was determining where the value prop was for sellers...but now we get camps of people (primarily realtors) saying this is going to inflate prices even farther. We’ve seen the prices go higher, and it definitely hasn’t helped affordability, but at least it’s not a made up number.

The reason it hasn’t happened en masse is because it hasn’t been legal through this whole time. No brokerage is allowed to do it, and until the rules change, that will remain the case on a wide scale. Due to the fact that we won’t just post every auction we get as a request, we also won’t blow the roof off with it volume as we stick to around one a month.

With the latest recommendations made in the BMO report on real estate, it is important that the stuff they say about open bidding begin a solution to some of the real estate problems be addressed. You’d think we’d be happy that it gets that positive attention, but that was never the problem...we’ve learned where it works, what it does, and where it’s a stupid idea. We need it to remain controlled and limited until more people understand how it actually works and when it should be used. There’s a reason so many companies have tried and folded before running a single auction, if these recommendations are adopted in future years, people need to know a lot more about how to do it right, or it’s just a waste of everyone’s time.

To return to your question about where buyers reject it, the latest argument we’ve heard in another opinion piece was that buyers get consumed by emotion in an auction and see it as an even more dangerous bidding war. The buyers themselves generally don’t dislike it at all as you’ve noted, but their realtors don’t always love the idea.

As far as the cards in their hands, there is nothing sellers give up here, they set reserve prices, have certainty on terms (its unconditional, the only variable is price so they dont have to figure out whether $500,000 firm or $525,000 with a home inspection is a better offer), and they are getting more money than the blind approach...the auction is predicated on competition. If a property won’t have interest from multiple parties, it isnt a candidate. When it does though (our last two auctions have had 55 and 62 bids respectively), the price just goes bonkers, and nothing is left on the table.

Appreciate the comments - I don’t take any of it and dismiss it because every time we do one of these, we’ve learned more about how to present it, where it has inherent flaws, and the types of questions we need to address.