Live auction with 3D viewing a first in SA

Multi-property auctioneering broke new ground in SA this week with the first live virtual sale in which all bids were accepted through a variety of digital channels including Zoom and in-app live stream, off the back of high-tech, detailed 3D virtual property tours already taken by registered bidders from across the country. High Street Auctions director and lead auctioneer Joff van Reenen says lockdown regulations and fears of attending large gatherings, have accelerated the public’s acceptance of virtual auctions, but auction companies have also had to go the extra mile to retain clients and grow their client base. “At the beginning of the outbreak High Street already had an advanced digital auction platform that streamed our live auctions and accepted both real time and commission bids placed in advance. Since property investment invariably involves such big numbers, though, we had to ask ourselves whether we were doing enough to both service our sellers and instil confidence in buyers that they were getting the full picture – even under lockdown conditions.” Van Reenen says over the past two months High Street has therefore invested heavily in virtual technology that digitises the real estate sale process from beginning to end. One of those investments and a SA auction first, is technology that showcases every seller’s property – whether residential, commercial or industrial – in a full 3D, 360-degree virtual walkthrough format on highstreetauctions.com, allowing potential buyers to examine walls, floors, ceilings and fixtures at their leisure from the comfort of their homes or offices. High Street has also extended its bidding platforms to include telephonic commission bids with the auctioneer and live bidding on the High Street app as well as via Zoom on sale days. To complete the fully digitised process, High Street has invested in secure digital signature technology for all sale contracts, which means both sellers and buyers can remotely and legally sign all necessary documents and submit them digitally.