Huge crowds of dozens packed at auctions despite election stress

Crowds of 40 to 60 people were attending packed auctions across Brisbane on Saturday, even through the ongoing state election.

Bidders, neighbours and interested bystanders crowded in to see fast-paced bidding wars across suburbs such as Eight Mile Plains and Red Hill.

Apollo Auctions auctioneer Justin Nickerson said that an election can often send a jolt of excitement to a crowd attending events on the day.

“No doubt there’s an air of anticipation that adds to the theatre,” he said.

Dozens of people were watching auctions in-person on Saturday, taking the time out of their day even during a state election.

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Around 60 people gathered out for a four-bedroom home on 12 Goorari St, Eight Mile Plains, with eight registered bidders eagerly anticipating the auction.

The midday bidding began with an offer of $1 million, with five active bidders furiously going head to head across 30 escalating bids.

Ray White Sunnybank Hills agent George Yang said bidding was quick as it bounced from one buyer to another – “quite different to some other auctions around, where it was a little slower with a lot of pausing”.

After the price raised to $1.3 million, two bidders remained, escalating the offers by $96,000.

When the winning buyer made a final raise of $4,000, the underbidder stepped out – and the home sold for $1.4 million.

The home was sold from an older man looking to downsize, to a mother helping her daughter buy a home over the phone.

Mr Yang said his team was pleasantly surprised to see a high turnout.

“We assumed we’d have a reduced crowd number because of the election, but that didn’t happen,” he said.

Many crowds were unfazed by voting, some of them having done so before or after going to a house to bid.

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Meanwhile, seven people registered to bid for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 17 Thorn St, Red Hill.

Dozens of people attended the auction as bidding began at $1.6 million, with four active bidders competing for an investor-owned property.

Quickly moving through offers, the auction paused at $1.89 million, with the highest bidders having been working with a buyer’s agent over the phone.

Soon, they had negotiated the property to sell at $1.925 million.

Ray White Paddington agent Max Hadgelias said the owners were “very happy” with the sale, which went to a group from North Queensland who were considering using the home as an investment property.

“It was a really lovely family home, so we had lots of people who were disappointed that they missed out on it,” he said.

Mr Hadgelias said the election may have contributed to the large crowd size, with voting taking place nearby.

“The good thing about election day is there are a few people out and about,” he said.

The home 12 Goorari St, Eight Mile Plains, still had 60 people curious to see how the home would sell.

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About 40 groups of people were eyeing the auction for 17 Thorn Street, Red Hill, which sold to someone over the phone.

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112 auctions were estimated to go up across Brisbane on Saturday, as people took to the voting booths.

Auctioneer Justin Nickerson said crowds on election days were often excited to move on from voting, attending auctions before or after casting their lot.

“We always find election days are a really funny day.” he said. “We find there’s a lot of size and energy, and our crowds are often quite sizeable.”

Place Auctioneer Peter Burgin said elections didn’t always impact activity on auction days, as it wasn’t responsible for putting pressure on potential buyers.

“People are just going about their business,” he said, with the exception being if the election will have an impact on something such as negative gearing.