MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, March 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As would-be homeowners continue to scratch their heads trying to figure out how to finally buy their dream home, there is finally a way.
A beautiful, detached home in the highly sought-after Lorne Park neighbourhood in Mississauga is hitting the auction block on April 10. On The Block Realty (www.getontheblock.com), a Toronto based real estate brokerage and auction house, has placed this 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom house up for sale, and they’ve done it using their popular online auction platform.
Their first auction, a pre-construction condo at Yonge and Eglinton, drew the interest of 17 registered bidders, and ultimately sold with full transparency to the highest bidder on auction night. As that sale made history as the first such auction in the GTA, this auction will be the first of its kind for a resale home in the GTA as well.
The home will be listed on MLS and is available for viewings anytime, as you would expect with a traditional listing. All of the home’s information, including an independent third party home inspection report, a 3D rendering of the entire home, and even the purchasing contract (without the final price) are available for viewing on the property’s listing page at www.1105saginaw.ca. The only difference is on auction night, where potential home buyers are able to see exactly what they need to pay in order to own the home. With two full weeks for potential bidders to ensure they have all the information they need, this isn’t just a case where the only variable is price, it is also a rare occasion where buyers aren’t rushed into a snap decision.
For those potential buyers who can’t wait until the auction date, On The Block also offers a unique ‘buy it now’ option, where even the idea of a ‘bully offer’ is transparent. To avoid the auction process, the actual price to purchase the home outright is listed and literally just a click away.
If someone interested in bidding on the home happens to be unavailable on the auction day, potential buyers can place a maximum bid beforehand – a confidential price that will only be increased to the lowest price necessary for that bidder to be in the lead when the auction opens on April 10.
As the Spring real estate market is once again ramping up, and blind bidding wars have started to reappear, families looking for their new home are experiencing the frustration that took over in 2017. “It is ridiculous”, says Al, a father of two, who has been trying to buy a new home for months. “We have had no idea what price to offer in these bidding wars, and we’ve already had one instance where the final selling price was less than we were willing to go – had we known.” With a transparent auction, all bidders will know exactly what price to offer to be in the lead, and while it will ensure the seller gets the best possible price, it also will ensure that every buyer is comfortable and confident with their decision.
There are several ‘how-to’ videos on the website that walk users through the bidding process; it is not dissimilar to other online auction platforms such as eBay. The one big difference from eBay is that nobody will be able to grab the property with a last second bid. “We learned in our first auction that all the bidders wanted to wait until the end of the auction to bid, with hopes of winning the property because of the quickest click”, says Daniel Steinfeld, Chief Executive Officer of On The Block. “We’ve built the platform to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to purchase the home, so any bids in the final minutes of any auction automatically extends the clock to give other bidders the opportunity to increase their bids.”
Registering to view all the auction details is easy and has no cost. Bidding is also free, however security measures are taken to ensure that no false bids are placed, including a pre-authorization on a credit card that only charges a user in the event of such a ‘delinquent bid’.
Viewings of the home can be booked either through a buyer’s Realtor, MLS or on the auction page at www.1105saginaw.ca. Pre-bidding is available until the auction opens at 8:00am on April 10th. Bidding closes at 8:00pm on the same day.
On The Block is the product of Katie and Daniel Steinfeld, two GTA Realtors with an extensive background in finance, marketing and sales. As platforms like Uber and Airbnb have disrupted their spaces, On The Block is positioned to challenge a real estate process that for too long hasn't seen significant change. With transparency in constant question, and affordability diminishing, it's more important than ever to give people some choice and power in the biggest purchasing decision of their lives.