Article courtesy of Domain.com.au

 

Even though elections do take many people away from other commitments to vote, many real estate agents are willing to take the risk, hopeful that buyers will visit a polling place before or after the auction.

All except for one agent selling a property in Melbourne’s west, who wasn’t sure whether he’d go ahead with the auction on election day when Domain informed him of the clash. The agent said he hadn’t encountered it before while in his job.

 

Andrew Smith with Kay & Burton is helping to sell a property at 7 Inverness Avenue, Armadale, in the Malvern District electorate, on November 24. He’s optimistic the pending polls might mean even more punters will be out and about, while he notes others might vote early.

 

“The polling booths in and around Prahran have been open since Monday, and people have had plenty of time to vote in the two weeks leading up to the election,” Mr Smith said.

He said auction timing was important to allow people to vote, and to buy their next home or investment.

“If you hold it in the morning, most people can hopefully buy at the auction and then go and vote after,” he said.

Mr Smith said he had already voted since he was working on election day and wouldn’t have time to vote on the 24th.

He believed plenty of voters would not be swayed from turning up to bid, and said traffic congestion and kids’ sport often had a bigger impact on Saturday auctions.

“Most people will be out and about so there might just be a bigger crowd,” he said.

Prestige auctioneer with Marshall White Marcus Chiminello agrees, saying the agency is expecting more people to be at their auctions on election day.

“As a company we have several auctions happening on the 24th,” Mr Chiminello said.

“My view and the general view is that everyone is in Melbourne, so really you have a captive audience. Voting only takes up a quarter of an hour of the day.”

Mr Chiminello said most agents and auctioneers would probably vote early in the morning, or before polls close in the afternoon.

John Matthews from Nelson Alexander said while in the past agents would avoid holding auctions on election day, it didn’t seem to have so much of an impact nowadays.

 

“We’re of the opinion it doesn’t affect auctions. We used to bypass it and have the auctions a week before, or a week after, but we don’t now,” he said.

Mr Matthews, who will be the auctioneer for a property at 33a Chatham Street Footscray, will be pre-voting, he said.

And despite the draw of the sausage sizzle at many polling stations on election day, none of the agencies Domain spoke to had plans to throw a few snags on a barbecue for the occasion.

“There’s plenty of opportunity to outside of the election, or Bunnings, for that,” Kay & Burton’s Andrew Smith said with a laugh.