They will be sending the crew to film the event this Friday at the Park Inn Radisson at 2pm.
News of the auction, held by Auction House Scotland, has already caused a stir in the city’s business and property communities.
The company’s drinks reception, being held the hour before the auction, has attracted an extremely high calibre of guests, including senior partners in law firms, chief executives of property companies and directors of real estate finance from banks and public sector organizations. A number of private property investors have also accepted invitations.
MD Ross Harper said:
“We’ve been delighted with the response from Aberdeen’s property community and we’ve worked hard to establish relationships with the right people. There’s a genuine curiosity and excitement around the addition of an auction as a route to market. For some added buzz, the ‘Homes Under the Hammer’ production team have asked us if they can film at our first Aberdeen auction and we’re more than happy to host them too.”
Matthew Cohen, of Matthew Cohen and Associates, is an ASPC agent and early partner of Auction House Scotland.
He said:
"I’m quite excited about the idea from a legal point of view. The auction model is an advantage for sellers, of course, I like the idea of a sale being made on the day and then people get their money in three weeks later once the legal work is concluded. They also get the deposit up front and you don’t have the endless negotiations over minutiae.”
Auction House Scotland made the decision to open the north east’s first salesroom to reflect the variety and number of properties it has to sell in the area. Mr Harper said his team was being invited north from its Glasgow office on a weekly basis to value and market properties.
“It’s no secret the property market is booming in the north east, but what seems to surprise people is the part a property auction can play,” he said.
“Competition drives sales and the two things an auction offers that particularly appeal to buyers and sellers alike are simplicity and speed. When the gavel falls the sale is final and people normally exchange within 14-28 days. That compares very favourably with the secrecy of closing dates and the complexity of concluding missives.”
Friday’s auction will feature nearly 30 lots from Aberdeen and shire and the adjacent Highlands and Islands region, including a four bedroom bungalow in Cove Bay, a number of buy-to-let investment opportunities with tenants in situ in the city centre and a selection of development opportunities. A converted church with three bedrooms and a studio is attracting a lot of attention in Huntly, while a £1.3 million former family seat on the Isle of Skye offers the wow-factor.
“We have an enormous database of investors and sell a number of properties to telephone bidders,” Ross added. “Sellers often find they can achieve a higher price at auction if their property attracts interest from competing bidders.”
