Auction campaigns are getting shorter, thanks to home-buyer FOMO

PHOTO: Melbourne real estate agents are bringing an increasing number of auctions forward as impatient buyers refuse to wait. Photo: Stephen McKenzie

Real estate agents across Melbourne have been slashing the length of a typical four-week auction campaign to as little as one or two weeks, as buyers’ fear of missing out (FOMO) goes into overdrive.

A combination of pent-up demand from Melbourne homebuyers – who have been in and out of lockdown for the past 17 months – the threat of further snap lockdowns and the city’s runaway auction market has led to many agents putting homes on the market for anywhere between seven and 17 days before taking them to auction.

Matt Morris from Ray White Ferntree Gully said in the past couple of weeks he had sold several homes at auction within 17 days of listing them.

He said even a 17-day campaign felt like “an eternity” for some homebuyers, who are eager to put in an offer on the first day they see a property.

“We obviously want to be able to attract the maximum number of buyers for the vendors, so you get the best result at auction,” he said.

“But what we’re finding is working really well at the moment is having a home open for two Saturdays and then taking it to auction on the following Saturday.

“We’ve found that the shorter campaign is doing really well in this market where buyers don’t want to have to wait.”