So when she was preparing to sell her Burlington semi last year, Holt was receptive to her real estate agent’s suggestion that she put her house up for auction.
Auctioning real estate is common practice in Australia and Britain.
That’s something auction companies such as On the Block Auctions in Vaughan and Ottawa-based Unreserved say their businesses provide.
There were about seven active bidders on Holt’s home, one who came in at the end causing the auction to be extended twice.
Holt said she set a minimum selling price of about $650,000 for her home and it sold for about $780,000.
Things like minimum price, financing and closing dates are all decided beforehand, said Daniel Steinfeld, who founded On the Block.
“Without using technical terms, this whole process gives them an icky feeling.
Steinfeld and his wife, Katie, founded On the Block Auctions in 2017, with Steinfeld getting his auctioneer credentials and building an online platform he describes as similar to eBay.
Now it’s an additional service offered to the clients of the On the Block brokerage and other real estate agents can use the auction platform for a flat fee of $1,500.
Since auctions are predicated on competition, properties with broad appeal rather than homes “only a mother could love,” are the best candidates, says Steinfeld.
Although it only launched last summer in Ottawa, Unreserved tested its business model on homes it bought itself and then resold on its auction platform.
For a fee of 1 per cent of the home’s sale price, Unreserved guarantees auction sellers a minimum dollar return — something O’Connor says provides peace of mind for those who have already purchased their next home.
When asked, O’Connor is straightforward — it’s not a chapter he’s proud of but he stresses he did not plead guilty in connection to any act that hurt consumers.
“There is no legislation in Ontario which regulates the activities of auctioneers nor even a registration system.
The Ontario government won’t say if it plans to eliminate the auctioneer exemption, only that it is looking at additional regulations as part of the 2020 Trust in Real Estate Act.
The Canadian Real Estate Association will begin partnering with an Australian company this summer to pilot real-time tracking of offers on the industry’s website, Realtor.ca.