Property Auctions Made Simple.

Property Auctions Made Simple.

The process of selling property at auction should be made smoother by the publication of a new set of common auction conditions.

Auctions are becoming an increasingly popular way of selling property, with the top 20 commercial and residential auctioneers seeing a 16 per cent increase in property sold at auction in 2004.

To ensure the auction process is smooth for all involved, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has updated its Common Auction Conditions publication.

First published in 2002, the conditions were devised by buyers, sellers, solicitors and auctioneers, to make the legal process underpinning auctions easier to understand.

Rics says the speed and simplicity of property auctions is behind their increasing popularity.

Charles Smailes, chair of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) agrees.

"Selling property at auction has become more popular as consumers become increasingly aware of its benefits," he said.

"Auctioning has the advantages of certainty and transparency – when the hammer falls, the deal is done – and this can make selling a property at auction an attractive proposition."

But he warned that the auction market is not immune from the same conditions that affect the wider housing market.

"For example, the suitability of a property auction must be assessed and the motivation of the sellers taken into account," he added.

"An unusual property or an owner looking for a quick sale may do well to auction their property. However, a property owner that has not received sound advice from an expert who understands their situation may be disappointed with the result."

Rics auction conditions are used by most auction houses and vendors' solicitors as a common standard across the industry, and the new conditions come into effect this week.

Rics' Richard Auterac said: "Rics have ensured that the conditions have evolved to meet the current needs of the marketplace and stem from the belief that professionals active in the auction market should act as innovators and examples of best practice for the entire real estate transactional market." http://www.uk-government-auctions.co.uk