It was planned as an event and so it turned out.
Curious neighbours from the same streets as the vendors joined the prospective buyers and bidders.
A lawyer, mortgage broker and property management experts waited in the wings for the business. And Ray White Realty Focus's auctioneer, Wayne Olver, swung into action.
The upstairs function room at Classic Flyers was packed over two sessions last Friday as Ray White presented its first mass auction in Tauranga - with 24 properties, mainly in Papamoa and Mount Maunganui, on offer.
In a four-week marketing campaign, Ray White was keen to show that auctions work, just as the other leading realtors in Tauranga do.
"People shy away from auctions," said Mr Olver. "We were concentrating on getting the days on the market (for the property) down, and to bridge the difference between vendors' expectations and the buyers' opinions."
Ray White was happy with the result of its campaign. It sold an apartment at the Pacific high-rise in Maunganui Rd for $400,000 pre-auction, five houses under the hammer and two others straight after the auction - one in Royal Palms, Papamoa, for $701,000 (CV $685,000) and the other in Papamoa Beach Rd for $360,000 (CV $314,000).
The property in Royal Palms had been on the market for four months. Only five parties went through it in that time and, during the auction campaign, 30 people made an inspection.
A total of $3.94 million worth of property changed hands. And after the auction, the Ray White salespeople continued to negotiate on six properties worth about $3 million.
"There are so many intangibles with the market," said Mr Olver. "Neighbours came along to see what is going on and there are a lot of buyers but they are waiting for the right property to come up.
"The buyers are well educated and they know what is well priced and what's not. The biggest factor is builder's and solicitor's reports. There are issues with monolithic cladded houses but the good brick and tile or solid plaster homes are fine."
Four of the properties, in Papamoa, sold for $26,000 to $36,000 above their capital valuation, set in July 2009, while three in downtown Mount went for close to capital valuation or $10,000 below.
A three-bedroom brick-and-tile house on a 735sq m section in Evans Rd sold for $395,000 (CV $359,000), a four-bedroom solid plaster home in Sarah Place, Papamoa, for $455,000 (CV $419,000), a small two-bedroom house in Puriri St for $325,000 (CV$328,000) and a three-bedroom 1970s home with a swimming pool on a 1107sq m section in Waitui Grove, Mount, for $695,000 (CV$700,000).
"We found there's a lot of interest out there (in the market)," said Mr Olver. "It's not flat out but it's good and offers are going in on a regular basis."
