Selling by auction: how to set up your lot

An auction suits a property that needs a decision by a date: a distressed sale, a bank deadline, a probate split, or anything where certainty of timing matters more than squeezing the last dollar out of a long negotiation.

It is not a way to test the market. Once bidding opens, your reserve is your commitment to sell.

Before you start

• The listing must already be live — reviewed and published. Draft and pending listings cannot be put to auction.
• A property can only run one auction at a time. Schedule a new one after the current lot ends.
• Photos, the map pin and the title details matter more at auction than anywhere else. Bidders who cannot verify what they are buying do not post deposits.

Setting your terms

You set the terms once, when you create the lot. Get them right — they are what bidders commit against.

Starting price

Where bidding opens. Set it below what you expect to achieve. A starting price close to your reserve gets fewer bidders through the door, and the number of bidders is what makes an auction work.

A common approach is around 80% of your asking price.

Reserve price

The minimum you will accept. It must be at or above the starting price, and it is never shown to bidders — they only see whether it has been met.

If bidding stops below the reserve, there is no sale and every deposit is refunded. Set it at the number you would genuinely sign at, not at your hope.

Buy-now price (optional)

An immediate-purchase figure, which must be above your reserve. A bidder who pays it wins the lot on the spot and the auction ends. Leave it empty if you want the auction to run its course.

Bid increment

The fixed step between valid bids. Too small and the auction crawls; too large and bidders drop out early. On a $200,000 property, $1,000 to $2,000 is a workable step.

Deposit percentage

Every bidder posts a refundable deposit before they can bid, calculated from your reserve price. You choose between 2% and 5%, with a $100 minimum.

Higher deposits mean fewer but more serious bidders. Lower deposits mean more competition and a slightly higher chance the winner walks away.

Timing

Set the opening and closing times. The platform opens and closes the lot automatically — you do not need to be online.

Give the market time: at least a week between publishing the lot and opening bidding, so buyers can inspect the property and get their deposits confirmed. Deposits are confirmed manually, so a lot that opens tomorrow will have very few eligible bidders.

Anti-snipe

Two settings protect the ending:

• Anti-snipe window — how close to the end a bid triggers an extension (up to 15 minutes; 2 minutes is typical).
• Extension — how much time a late bid adds (30 seconds to 15 minutes; 2 minutes is typical).

This stops anyone winning with a single bid in the last two seconds. Expect your lot to close later than the advertised time if the bidding is competitive.

Fees

• Buyer's premium — up to 15%, added on top of the hammer price and paid by the winner. Setting it above zero raises your net but suppresses bidding, because bidders subtract it from what they are willing to bid.
• Seller's fee — up to 15% of the hammer price, deducted from your proceeds. The default is 2%.

While the lot is running

Your lot is published as Scheduled and opens by itself at the start time. You can watch the bid count, bidder count and current price from your dashboard.

You cannot bid on your own property, and you cannot change the terms once the lot is scheduled. If something is wrong, cancel and create a new lot.

Cancelling

You can cancel your own lot as long as it has no live bidding. Once the lot is live and bids have been placed, only an administrator can cancel it — that protects bidders who have committed money to your terms.

Either way, cancelling refunds every deposit in full and returns the property to the market.

When the lot closes

Reserve met. The highest bidder wins. The property moves to *Reserved* and the winner has 7 days to complete. Every losing deposit is released immediately.

Reserve not met. No sale, no winner, and every deposit is refunded. You keep the property and can relist it, run another auction, or approach the top bidders directly — their interest at a known price is valuable information.

If the winner does not complete

Tell us. The winner's deposit is forfeited and the sale rolls down to the next highest bidder whose bid still clears your reserve, with a fresh 7-day window for them. If no remaining bid clears the reserve, the lot ends without a sale and your listing goes back on the market.