Zooming ahead in Real Estate: Kathryn Picton-Warlow

Adapting to changing circumstances is essential in business, especially during times of uncertainty such as Covid-19 lockdowns.

Real Estate is one industry which has embraced change, in buying, selling and marketing properties.

Online auctions have enabled estate agents such as Fendalton property specialist Kathryn Picton-Warlow of Harcourts Holmwood to continue obtaining the best possible outcomes for her clients, even though it has not quite been business as usual.

Just prior to going into Alert Level 4 lockdown in August this year, Kathryn was one weekend into a sales campaign for a client.

“Response had been positive with 45 potential buyers through two open homes. There were also online inquiries from 15 potential buyers in Australia. Some were seeking rental investment properties while others were looking to return home to New Zealand,” says Kathryn, whose specialist skills include both marketing and sales. “We’d had two weeks of phenomenal interest in this property, and it would have been a shame to lose that impetus.”

She suggested a Zoom online auction and says that although the owners were initially quite hesitant about the idea, they soon embraced the concept, and are so pleased that they did.

“Not having run an online auction before, I was a bit apprehensive too, but the success of this has opened my eyes to new possibilities for my clients. Online auctions need to be a serious consideration in both buying and selling properties.”

Kathryn says the property has a registered value (RV) of $465,000. A pre-auction offer was made for $785,000 and the vendors proceeded with the Zoom auction because of the amount of interest in their property.

“There were eight bidders [online] on the day, including two from abroad who had not even seen the home. It sold at auction for $862,000 which is $97,000 more than the highest pre-auction offer. That extra money is life-changing for the owners, who were overwhelmed by the response.”

As for the owners, Kathryn said they found the online auction a slower, less stressful environment than a live physical auction would have been.

“They ended up with an incredible response and it gave them certainty. It’s a great option for others to consider moving forward,’’ adds Kathryn. “It’s an excellent platform for people purchasing property from abroad and we are seeing a lot of that in this current market.”

kathryn.picton-warlow@harcourts.co.nz