The new digital online auction site is already big business, making it easy to bid and buy via smartphone.
Homeowners wary of the auction room when it comes to buying or selling might prefer a new digital online auction called BidX1.
It is a bit like online goods market eBay, but for property.
Difficulties of raising finance, bargains that turn into bottomless pits, fears about losing deposits, overbidding, and auctioneers plucking “bids off the wall” still put many off the traditional “ballroom” auction.
But BidX1, up and running in the UK for 18 months, could be modifying that image.
Most significant is the holding of a £4,500 “buyers fee” at registration to enable you to bid.
How it works
If you win with the highest bid, you must pay a 10 per cent deposit at once and complete the purchase in 20 business days, possibly extended if over Christmas.
Each time a highest bid is made, the auction automatically extends for a further minute and only closes when there are no further bids.
“We’re running at an 80 per cent success rate this year, while the industry average is around 70 per cent,” says head of residential auctions Richard Watson, previously a partner at leading auction house Allsop.
“Part of that is down to BidX1 having greater visibility and transparency about exactly who is bidding.”
BidX1’s registration system for buyers and sellers complies with UK money laundering regulations and enables both sides to see on-screen who is bidding, how much, and when.
BidX1’s systems can also see where the bid is from geographically, and on what sort of device it was made.
https://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/buying/bidx1-property-auctions-new-ebaystyle-site-for-uk-home-buyers-and-sellers-takes-bids-from-a132236.html