RE/Max signs with Openn as home buyers flock to online auctions

Within the digitisation of our lives which was accelerated by a global pandemic, interest from home buyers with a preference for online auctions continues to grow with real estate network RE/Max the latest to partner with property tech company Openn Negotiation (ASX: OPN) and their online auction platform. 

Despite the pandemic-enforced lockdowns which have limited property inspections and on-property auctions, Australia’s housing market has thrived, leading to as much as 20% growth in capital cities. Despite this, underquoting and deceptive reserve prices continue to plague the industry where buyers seek transparency, a problem that Openn Negotiations online auction platform aims to solve. 

By partnering with Openn and integrating with their platform, RE/Max’s real estate agency will be able to further digitise the compliance processes of new listings, while increasing their marketing reach to attract bidders towards online auctions. 

“Openn Negotiation helps real estate agents meet the expectations of today’s buyers and sellers,” said RE/MAX Finance Director, Chris Chapman. 

“Openn takes proven sales methods and adds a transparent digital medium for making and receiving offers, and for managing competing bids. Agents using Openn can build more trust with buyers and sellers alike.” 

Unlike other online auctions which can be held and completed within minutes, the Openn platform can open anytime, and lists when the online auction will close. Bidders can then place a bid at any time up until the auction closes and see exactly what the current bid price is while also tracking other properties on their watchlist. 

“As we continue to grow and scale up the Openn platform, partnerships with leading networks such as RE/MAX will allow us to further showcase the benefits Openn has to offer, as well as the type of results that can be gained for the seller, the buyer, and the agent,” said Openn Negotiation Managing Director, Peter Gibbons. 

“This is a key element of our growth strategy and supports our goal to provide agents with an exceptional enabling tool that can be utilised to streamline and improve the selling process.” 

The popularity of online auctions has risen particularly through the pandemic where interested parties are able to attend multiple auctions from the comfort of their homes. These are free to attend for onlookers while bidders can quickly move on to the next property they are interested in once a live auction exceeds their budget. This has been particularly popular in cases where there may not be enough time to transit between properties on the Saturdays when most auctions are held. 

Since listing on the ASX last month at an IPO Offer Price of $0.20 per share, investors have been quick to get a slice of the online auction platform with OPN shares trading as high as $0.435 before coming back to $0.30.