We've Won 100+ Auctions. This Is the Positioning Guide Nobody Teaches You.

Our team has participated in over 100 auctions in the past 18 months alone. Light October we bought five properties at auction in a single month. And the single most important thing I can teach you about auctions has nothing to do with bidding strategy.

It is about where you stand.

An auctioneer costs the vendor $300-$500. That is it. Auctions are cheap theatre designed to create urgency and competition. The auctioneer will spend three minutes on housekeeping rules, then orchestrate a 15-20 minute spectacle designed to make you feel like the house is slipping away.

Do not participate in the spectacle. Position yourself to observe it.

The god-view positioning map

Picture a standard Melbourne auction. The house faces the street. The auctioneer stands in front of the house, facing outward. Buyers cluster on the nature strip and footpath. Cars line both sides of the road.

Most buyers stand directly in front of the auctioneer, in the crowd. This is the worst possible position. You are visible to every competitor. The auctioneer can read your body language. You feel pressure from the proximity of other bidders.

Here is where we position:

The observation phase (first 10 minutes): We stand behind a parked car on the opposite side of the street, partially concealed. From this vantage point, we can see the entire crowd, the auctioneer, the selling agent, and — crucially — which buyers are whispering to their partners, which are on the phone to their parents, and which are stone-cold serious.

The bidding phase (final 10 minutes): We move to a 45-degree angle from the auctioneer, slightly behind the main crowd. This position achieves two things: the auctioneer can see our bids, but other buyers have to physically turn around to identify who is bidding. That 2-second delay in locating us disrupts their emotional rhythm.

The post-auction phase: If the property passes in (fails to meet the reserve), the first person to reach the selling agent has priority negotiation rights. We position one team member near the front door before bidding begins, ready to intercept the agent immediately if the hammer does not fall.

"Auctions are not about who pays the most. They are about who controls the information flow. Position yourself to see everything and be seen by nobody." — Joey Don, PremiumRea

Bidding psychology: the ten-minute rule

Never bid in the first ten minutes. Record that somewhere you will see it before every auction.

The opening phase is for emotional bidders — the people who have been dreaming about this house for weeks and cannot contain themselves. Let them exhaust their momentum. Let them bid in $10,000 increments until they slow to $5,000, then $2,000, then $1,000.

When the bidding pace drops to $1,000 increments and pauses start appearing — that is when you enter. Your first bid should be a round number, delivered loudly and confidently, at an amount that re-anchors the conversation. If bidding has stalled at $742,000, do not bid $743,000. Bid $750,000. The psychological impact of a round-number jump is disproportionate to the dollar difference.

The other bidders are already emotionally spent. Your fresh, confident entry at a round number signals deep pockets and willingness to go higher. Many competitors fold at this point — not because they cannot afford more, but because the psychological dynamic has shifted against them.

We set a hard ceiling with every client before the auction. A maximum price, written down, agreed upon. If bidding exceeds that ceiling, we stop. No exceptions. No "just one more bid." The discipline of a pre-set ceiling is the single most important safeguard against the auction fever that costs Australian buyers thousands of dollars every weekend.

When the property passes in: your best opportunity

A pass-in is not a failure for the buyer. It is an opportunity.

When a property fails to reach the vendor's reserve price, the highest bidder gets first right of negotiation with the vendor. The psychological dynamic has inverted: the vendor expected competitive bidding to push the price above their reserve. Instead, the market has spoken, and the price is below expectations. The vendor is now the anxious party.

In post-pass-in negotiations, we typically achieve prices $10,000-$30,000 below what we would have paid in a competitive auction. We also negotiate favourable conditions: longer settlement periods (90-120 days), which give us time to arrange financing and plan renovations.

Some of our best deals have been pass-ins. A property we acquired for a client in Boronia passed in at $660,000 against a $700,000 reserve. Our post-auction negotiation secured it at $660,000 with a 90-day settlement. Four weeks after settlement, the bank valued it at $890,000. That $230,000 in instant equity happened because we had the discipline to let the auction fail and negotiate from strength.

Frequently asked questions

Is it true that auction properties have no cooling-off period? Correct. Once the hammer falls, the contract is unconditional and binding. There is no cooling-off period and no finance clause. This is why we always complete building inspections and arrange finance pre-approval before auction day. Walking into an auction without pre-approval is financial recklessness.

Should I make a pre-auction offer? Sometimes. A strong unconditional pre-auction offer can convince a vendor to cancel the auction and accept certainty over risk. We have successfully used this strategy multiple times — it is particularly effective when the vendor is motivated (downsizing, estate sale, relocation) and values speed and certainty over maximum price.

How many auctions should I attend before buying? As observers, at least 3-5 in your target suburb. This calibrates your sense of what properties actually sell for (versus listed guides) and lets you practise reading the room without financial pressure.