Selling by auction, when certainty and a fixed date matter most.
Auction is no longer the last resort it was once thought to be. Run properly, it offers something a conventional sale cannot: a committed buyer, open competitive bidding and a defined timescale from launch to completion. Here is how the modern and traditional methods work, when auction genuinely suits a seller, and how we run it, director-led throughout.
Conditional or unconditional.
There are two routes to selling at auction, and the difference comes down to the moment a buyer becomes committed and how quickly they must complete. We help you choose the one that fits your home, your buyers and your timescale.
Conditional auction
A committed buyer and a fixed timescale, with the security of a mortgage-friendly completion window.
- The winning bidder secures the property and pays a non-refundable reservation to take it off the market
- A reservation period follows, typically 28 days to exchange and a further 28 to complete
- That window suits buyers who need a mortgage, widening the pool of who can bid
- Well suited to owner-occupier homes as well as investment stock
Unconditional auction
The fastest, most binding route: contracts exchange the moment the hammer falls.
- Exchange of contracts happens on the fall of the hammer, so the sale is legally committed there and then
- The buyer pays a deposit immediately and completion usually follows within around 20 working days
- Best suited to buyers with funds in place, and to homes where speed and certainty come first
- Little room for a sale to unravel once the gavel goes down
When selling by auction is the right decision.
If a committed buyer and a fixed date matter more than chasing the last few percent over months, auction delivers both. The buyer is bound to timescales from the moment they win.
Auction runs to a calendar. Marketing, bidding and completion all sit inside a set window, which suits probate, relocation, onward chains and any sale that needs to be done by a date.
Properties with clear appeal, a development angle, an unusual character or simply strong local demand often perform well under competitive bidding, where interested parties push the price in the open.
Every bid is visible and every bidder has qualified to take part. There is no behind-the-scenes negotiation and no wondering whether a higher offer existed; the market sets the price in real time.
From appraisal to completion, on a calendar.
An auction is a sequence of things done properly and in the right order, run to a defined timescale. Here is how we take a home from first appraisal to a completed sale.
A senior valuer prices your home, advises whether auction is genuinely the right route, and recommends the method and a realistic reserve. We are honest about when a private treaty sale would serve you better; auction is a tool, not a default.
Your solicitor prepares the legal pack up front: title, searches, tenancy details and the special conditions. Because buyers bid on full information, they bid with confidence, and the sale is far less likely to stall later.
The home is marketed to the same standard as any sale we take on, with professional photography, a standout listing and accompanied viewings. Interested parties register and qualify to bid during this window.
Bidding runs transparently, most often through a timed online auction that gives buyers room to compete over a set period. Every bid is visible, the reserve protects your position, and the market decides the price in the open.
Under the modern method the winning bidder pays a non-refundable reservation and is committed to fixed timescales. Under the traditional method contracts exchange on the fall of the hammer and a deposit is paid there and then.
From that point the sale runs to a defined calendar, and we manage it exactly as we manage a private treaty sale: staying on top of solicitors and lenders so your sale moves through to completion on time.
Certainty, competition and speed.
The case for auction comes down to a committed buyer, an open market setting the price and a date you can plan around. For the right home and the right seller, that combination is hard to beat.
Once a bid wins, the buyer is financially and contractually committed to timescales. That is a very different position from a private treaty offer that can be withdrawn at any point before exchange.
Interested parties bid against one another in full view. Genuine competition, rather than a single private negotiation, is what pushes a price to its true level on the day.
The whole process runs to a calendar, from launch to completion. For anyone who needs certainty of timing, that defined window is often worth as much as the price itself.
With a legal pack prepared up front and a committed buyer bound to timescales, auction sales are far less likely to collapse than a conventional sale agreed on a handshake.
Every bid is recorded and every bidder is qualified. You can see exactly how the market has responded, with no question of a hidden higher offer or an opaque negotiation.
We agree a confidential reserve before bidding opens, below which your home will not sell. You keep control of the floor while the open market sets everything above it.
A serious process, managed by a named person.
An auction only delivers its certainty if it is run with discipline. We prepare the legal pack before launch, qualify every bidder before they take part, agree your reserve, and stay on top of solicitors and lenders through to completion once bidding closes. Throughout, you deal with me directly: one point of contact who knows your sale inside out, so nothing sits in an inbox overnight.
What sellers ask about auction
The methods, the timescales and how a modern property auction actually works.
The traditional, or unconditional, method exchanges contracts the instant the hammer falls: the buyer is legally committed on the day and completion typically follows within around twenty working days, so it suits buyers with funds already in place. The modern, or conditional, method instead sees the winning bidder pay a non-refundable reservation, then a reservation period, usually 28 days to exchange and a further 28 to complete, giving mortgage buyers time to arrange finance. Both create a committed buyer bound to a timescale; the modern method simply widens the pool of who can take part.
No. That reputation is out of date. Auction now sells everything from investment stock and probate sales to characterful family homes and development opportunities. What these have in common is that certainty, speed or open competition suits the seller. A sound, well-presented home can perform very well under competitive bidding, and increasingly does.
Far less time, and to a far more predictable calendar, than a conventional sale. A typical campaign runs a marketing period of a few weeks, then a defined completion window: around twenty working days under the traditional method, or roughly 28 days to exchange and 28 to complete under the modern method. From instruction to completion, a matter of weeks rather than the open-ended timeline of a private treaty sale.
The reserve is a confidential figure, agreed between you and us before bidding opens, below which your home will not be sold. It protects your position: bidding can run freely in the open, but your home only changes hands at or above the floor you have set. It is different from the guide price, which is simply an indication to draw interested buyers in.
Costs depend on the method and the structure of the sale, and under the modern method a proportion of them can fall to the buyer rather than the seller. We set out every figure clearly and in writing before you commit to anything, transparently and in line with the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, so there are no surprises. We will talk it all through at your appraisal.
Senior-led, and most often through a secure timed online auction that lets qualified buyers compete over a set period from wherever they are. We prepare the legal pack up front, qualify every bidder, agree your reserve, and manage the sale through to completion once bidding closes. You deal with a named person who knows your sale throughout, not a call centre.
Is auction right for your home?
Talk it through with us and you will get an honest view on whether auction or a private treaty sale serves you better, or start with an instant online guide to your home’s value.
Any valuation or guide we provide is our professional opinion of the price your home is likely to achieve, given in line with the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Guide and reserve prices are not a valuation and are not a guarantee of sale.