It took just two hours for all eight properties to sell at a combined auction event that drew a crowd in a regional NSW town of 10,000 people.
Bidders and real-estate-curious people filled a function centre in the middle of Parkes, eager to see homes go under the hammer in the central west town.
The November 21 auction was not typical of regional NSW which has far fewer properties going to auction than private treaties.
But Ray White Parkes residential agent Nick Kelly is a fierce advocate for house auctions and was "stoked" to have all his properties sold that evening.
"The whole night was smooth, we ran eight auctions and were still out of there by eight o'clock," Mr Kelly said.
"You can't ask much better than eight from eight."
Convinced auctions are the way
The Parkes local chose to run auction campaigns when he started in the industry full-time three years ago.
He said there has been a steady market of buyers who are looking for an affordable home in their area, or people moving from other regional areas.
"When I came into the game I had to be different than everyone else," he said.
"Everyone does private treaty and I just see it as too slow and you can't really market a property."
Auction campaigns run for four weeks but buyers will often make offers to the vendors before the auction day.
In many cases, homes sell prior to the auction event.
Mr Kelly encourages sellers to take their properties to auction to speed up the process and draw in as much interest as possible.
The median number of days on the market for Parkes properties is 73.
"So I've looked at auctions as a better marketing tool because when I run my campaigns there's only two questions I ask," Mr White said.
"Do you want to buy the property and have you spoken to a bank?"
What are people willing to pay?
The median property value in parks is $397,000, which is an increase of 4.1 per cent in the past 12 months, according to CoreLogic.
Of the eight homes sold at the auction event, only three were under the median value.
Mr Kelly said bidders were from around the region including three first-home buyers.
"There are a lot of different people looking at Parkes as a future growth area, and there are still a lot of people moving to Parkes," he said.
"People still want to be able to afford their own home."
He said while Sydney investors have dropped off, there are many young investors looking to get into the market with the plan to hold onto the property for many years.
A three-bedroom one-bathroom house on Paterson Street sold to first-home buyers for $400,000.
There were four bidding parties for the property.
The in-room auction also saw a larger home go under the hammer after 10 months on the market.
Mr Kelly said the owner of "Angala" on Fisher Street relisted the property with Ray White after the property had not been sold under another agency.
"He was struggling to give that away," he said.
"It was also that crunch period because buyers want to be in before christmas."
Other properties to sell included 40 Thomas Street, 40A Barton Street, 42 Webb Street, 36A High Street and 141 Currajong Street and "Creekview" Newell Highway.
