What is an auction reserve price?
The reserve price is the minimum amount a property is allowed to sell for at auction. The reserve price is decided by the auctioneer and agreed by the seller before progressing along the auction sale route – it’s typically set at around 15% below market value to stimulate interest from prospective buyers. As buyers compete against each other the price is bid up to a higher level.
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When selling a property at auction, the seller will agree to a minimum price they accept to sell for, that price is known as the reserve price. The seller is only obligated to sell the property once the bid amount meets or exceeds the reserve price. The reserve price is a confidential number, only known by the seller, their solicitor and the auctioneer. However, buyers will be advised of the “guide price” which is a number based on the reserve price, see more about the guide price below.
Last updated by Mark Grantham on 9th January 2017
The reserve price is agreed before the seller agrees to enter the property into auction, but it can be changed (with the seller’s permission) in the run up to auction, depending on the level of interest the property generates.
1. Your own circumstances will usually be the biggest influence on how motivated you are to sell. If you need to be sure of a sale, then set a lower reserve price.
2. Find a balance between the certainty of selling and being happy you have sold for a fair price.
3. Properties do very often sell for more than the reserve price. But if you need to achieve more than the reserve price to cover debts, don’t take a gamble.
4. If you are selling a vacant property, take into consideration the cost of owning the property (mortgage repayments, council tax, risk of damage etc) – are you better off cutting your losses?
5. Negotiate with the auctioneer. Ask if you can increase the reserve price by one or two percent.
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When comparing the reserve price to valuations you have received from estate agents, or prices you have seen similar properties advertised for, remember that the asking prices suggested by estate agents are typically set on the high side to win a sellers’ instruction. Eventual sale prices through estate agents can very often be far lower than the original advertised asking price.
It’s a common reaction for sellers to be alarmed at how low the auctioneer has set the guide price, especially when they see the price widely published on the auctioneers website, in the local newspaper, on Rightmove and Zoopla. The usual concern from the seller is that the guide price will be viewed as the value of the property and they fear prospective buyers will think there’s something wrong with the property. This is an understandable reaction, but if you think about it from the perspective of a buyer you will see the advantage it has. Advertising a property with a low guide price attracts the attention of more buyers and generates an overall greater level of interest, and that’s what’s needed to drive up the sale price. More prospective buyers will view the property, download the legal pack and carry out their research – they will inevitably see the property is worth more than the guide price and they’ll be one of many prospective buyers engaged in the auction process, ready to bid at auction.
In fact, many property dealers are happy to set low guide prices when selling at auction because they know it helps generate more interest in the property. A low guide price really does generate more interest in a property – to try and counter the issue, in 2014 the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) set a ruling that the guide price must sit within a 10% range of the reserve price.
So remember, when you see the auctioneer has set a low reserve price, don’t panic. Just remember the more competition there is, the higher the price will be bid up.
Next steps…
Read about the difference between an auction reserve price and the guide price.