Bulk property auction hailed a success

Wanganui City PHOTO/FILE

A bulk property auction has been hailed as a success by the real estate company behind the event.

Ray White Wanganui had initially put 22 properties on its catalogue but sales prior to the night brought the eventual number back to 17.

Tim Hocquard, company principal, said the auction was a "huge success" and they would repeat the process in October.

"We were going to auction with 22 properties. Four went before the auction itself, another had sold the week before the auction so suddenly we were down to 17," Mr Hocquard said.

"Another one sold on the night and now we've got six under contract and are negotiating on two more," he said.

"We filled that room with about 90 people so we know there are people out there keen to buy. The thing is we came out with 10 happy owners whose properties will sell."

Mr Hocquard said they would repeat an auction in October but would have a smaller number of properties on offer.

He said the key was getting motivated vendors and buyers together to find a match. He said the prices reached at the auction satisfied all the parties.

Mr Hocquard said Ray White Wanganui would make auctions a regular sales technique from now on and it would be broadly publicised beforehand.

There were also four commercial properties in the catalogue. One of those sold, two are under negotiation and the fourth will probably be converted into a small industrial lot to fill a niche market where tradespeople can have their lock-ups.

"Before our next [auction] we'll have an evening at our offices, inviting people to come and learn how the auction process works to give them a guide through the process," he said.

And Mr Hocquard said properties for the next one would be hand-picked.

"We will be selecting those properties which we believe will sell," he said.

"The venue (The Wanganui Club in Heritage House) was great so we'll be back there for the next one."