RAY WHITE STARS
Street party auction pays off
BY SHANNON COOK
Leigh Grixti working the crowd . Matt Condon conducted the highly successful auction .
Ray White Deer Park ’ s Director Leigh Grixti didn ’ t just stop at a coffee truck for his 65 Furlong Rd , Cairnlea auction in July .
The western Melbourne business owner pulled out all the stops , organising a DJ and catering , turning the auction into Cairnlea ’ s hottest street party .
“ And we wanted to do something different !”
Leigh ’ s Deer Park office is committed to the auction method and he often goes all out for the big ticket properties . This has never failed to produce an incredible response from buyers - and over expectation results for his sellers .
The move paid off for Leigh after a crowd of onlookers gathered to watch the four bedroom property sell . Among the crowd of more than 160 people were 12 registered bidders , however , only six were able to get in on the action after bidding quickly shot from the opening bid of $ 1.01 million , past the $ 1.2 million reserve and up to the eventual $ 1.41 million record sale price under Ray White Victoria and Tasmania auctioneer Matt Condon ' s hammer .
Leigh ’ s seller was thrilled and told the Herald Sun that she was in another world after netting $ 210,000 above her reserve .
Ray White Deer Park ’ s auction events are well-known in the area and Leigh ’ s intention was to create an atmosphere and a unique energy that would highlight the incredible lifestyle of the home .
“ I ’ ve changed the process across every single home put on sale with an auction event , whether it be with DJs or a cocktail event . I gauge how the clients and buyers react to that and modify it to each individual home ,” he said .
“ It ’ s so powerful with potential sellers . I ’ ve had sellers speak to me postauction and the direct response has been that Ray White Deer Park is on another level .
“ Now , going into a listing presentation with that seller , it ’ s a lot easier to sell the process . They ’ ve got the social proof that shows them we are a far superior auction agency compared to our competitors .
“ We often get asked to replicate it .”
“ If I created an event that was powerful enough to engage and invoke extra emotion from buyers and bidders , the intention was that they would bid more and we ’ d have buyers bid at a higher level , which ultimately worked ,” he said .
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